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 | Sometimes it has led developments in parts of the country, as when it racially integrated the army after World War II. |
| Sometimes it has trailed social change, as in the case of religion. It has only recently allowed Wiccan and other Neopagan groups to form on military bases, and then only in the face of serious criticism from politicians and conservative Protestants. |
The military forms a special sub-culture, where the nation's regular laws do not necessarily apply. The need for unit cohesion has traditionally been used as an argument to prevent African Americans from being integrated into all-white units, to prevent women from playing a major role in combat, and for prohibiting homosexuals from serving at all.
As of late 2005, there is a significant difference between American society as a whole and the military's policies concerning homosexuals:
| In 2003-JUN, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Lawrence v. Texas that "anti-sodomy" laws were unconstitutional, and that states cannot make laws regarding adult private sexual behavior for the simple reason that it may be considered immoral. |
| In 2003-NOV, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Goodridge et al v. Department of Public Health that same-sex couples can marry. |
| The military currently has a "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy in which gays and lesbians are still expelled from the armed forces, but only if they reveal their sexual orientation. |
A soldier can travel to Massachusetts or Canada, marry the same-sex fiancé to whom he or she has made a lifetime commitment, return to base, and be expelled for having sex with his spouse.
Topics covered in this section:
| Events in the media 1950 to 1980 |
| More coming |
|
Home page > Homosexuality > Laws > here |
|
Home page > "Hot" religious topics > Homosexuality > Laws > here |
Copyright © 2005 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally posted: 2005-DEC-11
Latest update: 2005-DEC-11
Author: B.A. Robinson
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