Prestigious Military Law Commission Recommends Scrapping Sodomy Ban

Says Repeal Would Improve Military Justice

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is
being released by the Palm Center:

The military's prohibition of consensual sodomy invites arbitrary enforcement
and may be unconstitutional according to a report released by the Commission
on Military Justice today. The Commission recommends repealing the ban.

The report was sponsored by the National Institute of Military Justice and a
committee of the American Bar Association, and was authored by a distinguished
panel of judges, scholars and military personnel. It noted that military laws
already provide an "adequate basis to prosecute any criminal sexual
misconduct," rendering the sodomy ban unnecessary.

Proponents of "don't ask, don't tell" often point to the sodomy ban as
justification for excluding gay and lesbian service members. But scholars
dispute the soundness of that rationale. According to Dr. Nathaniel Frank,
"public opinion about private, consensual sexual conduct has shifted
dramatically since the military sodomy ban was written into law almost a
hundred years ago. To say that gays should be banned from the military for
this outdated reason makes no sense." Frank is Senior Research Fellow at the
Palm Center and author of Unfriendly Fire, a history of the "don't ask, don't
tell" policy.

In 2003, the late Professor Charles Moskos signed an amicus brief which stated
that the military's ban on sodomy is not necessary for preserving unit
cohesion or military readiness. Moskos was widely credited as the author of
the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

The Palm Center is a think tank at the University of California, Santa
Barbara. Since 1998, the Center has been a leader in commissioning and
disseminating research in the areas of gender, sexuality, and the military.
For more information visit www.palmcenter.ucsb.edu.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click
appropriate link.
Aaron Belkin
https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=90488
Nathaniel Frank
https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=85094

SOURCE The Palm Center

Indra Lusero, Assistant Director of The Palm Center +1-303-902-9402,
indralusero@palmcenter.ucsb.edu