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Inclusion of Gay Males & Lesbians |
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Compiled By GayToday
Santa Barbara, California-- The highest-ranking military officer of
the German Army released new guidelines last week to ensure full inclusion
of gay and lesbian service members. The Army's Inspector General, Harald
Kujat, issued a six-page document entitled, "How to Deal with
Sexuality," that addresses unprofessional conduct toward gay and lesbian
soldiers including sexual harassment and verbal abuse.
The new guidelines state that that it is "especially important to demand tolerance when it comes to different sexual orientations" and that it is "a leader's job to see to it that the quality of military performance will not be measured by the sexual orientation of the solider but by the requisites of the job at hand." "I think it's one of the most advanced guidelines there are," said Volker Beck, an openly gay member of the German Parliament, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Green Parliamentary Group. "The Minster of Defense has totally turned around in its policy toward gay and lesbian officers. This is a standard of a democratic army we can be proud of." Beck's comments were made to researchers at the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military (CSSMM) at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Twenty-three nations allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in their armed forces. The United States and Turkey are the only original members of NATO that continue to ban service by known homosexuals. |
