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on Military's Sodomy Statute |
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Compiled By GayToday
In their ensuing report, panelists called sodomy prosecutions "arbitrary, even vindictive," and recommended replacing the statute with one governing sexual abuse similar to laws ado pted by many states, and in Title 18 of the United States Code. Those recommendations were forwarded to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, for review. One year later, no action has been taken by the Pentagon or Congress to address the concerns. When contacted by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military (CSSMM) at the University of California-Santa Barbara, neither would provide comment on the status of their review of the report. "Our service members deserve the best military justice system in the world," said C. Dixon Osburn, Executive Director of SLDN. "Antiquated laws do not further military readiness." SLDN testified in favor of repealing the statute during the Commission's hearings. A joint report issued today by SLDN and CSSMM clearly shows that the Cox Commission's findings were valid and that Congress and the Pentagon should take swift action to repeal the sodomy statute. The report finds that sodomy charges are often used in conjunction with assault cases, where a statute similar to that proposed by the commission would be more appropriate. "The report," said Osburn, "is further evidence that repealing the military's antiquated sodomy statute is long overdue." Aaron Belkin, Director of CSSMM, noted that new studies show there are already a number of precedents for repealing sodomy statutes in advance of lifting a military's gay ban. America's closest military ally, Great Britain, repealed its sodomy statute in advance of lifting its ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service members.
SLDN urged Secretary Rumsfeld and Senator Levin to take swift action to review and implement the Cox Commission's recommendations. "The military's sodomy law is antiquated, discriminatory and should be repealed," said Osburn. The Cox Commission was sponsored by the National Institute of Military Justice in coordination with The George Washington University Law School. The members of the commission, in addition to Judge Cox, included Rear Admiral John S. Jenkins, JAGC, USN (Ret.), Senior Associate Dean at The George Washington University Law School; Professor Mary M. Cheh, also of The George Washington University Law School; Captain Guy R. Abbate, Jr., JAGC, USN (Ret.), senior instructor at the Naval Justice School; and Lieutenant Colonel Frank J. Spinner, USAF (Ret.), a private practitioner of military law. |
Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of Senate Armed Services, will have an importnat say in the debate over the repeal of the U.S. military's sodomy statute 