blacks from slavery in the 1800's and women were given the freedoms reserved for males in the early 1900's with the women's suffrage movement. But everyone still knows the underlying feeling of nation in dealing with minorities and women, one of contempt and disgust. Hate crimes are still perpetrated to this day in this country, and most are unpublicized and "swept underneath the rug." The general public is just now dealing with the struggle of Homosexuals to gain rights in America, although this persecution is subtle, quiet and rarely ever seen to the naked eye or the general public.

The big question today in Homosexuals rights struggles are dealing with the right to be a part of our country's Military Forces. At the forefront of the struggle to gain access to the military has

been Female's who have tried to gain access to "All Men" facilities and have been pressured out by other cadets. This small group of women have fought hard, and pressured the Government to change regulations dealing wi

instrumental in the brutality." The intense pressure of "hell week" in the Marines drove a few to wounding themselves, go AWOL, and a few even took there own life. People who are not "meant to be" in the Military are usually weeded out during these "initiations" and forced either to persevere or be discharged dishonorably. The military in the United States has become an elite society, a society where only few survive.

avoiding stiffer penalties (including prison sentences) for actually committing them. As society and the military came to be more enlightened about the nature of homosexuality, a redefinition of the policy became necessary. In 1982, the policy was redefined to state that "a homosexual (or a lesbian) in the armed forces seriously impairs the ability of the military services to maintain discipline, good order

of the homosexuals' ability to perform military duties, but of the morale of the military as a whole. And, in the military, it is always the good of the whole which must be considered before the good of the

If the admission of homosexuals into the military causes adverse effects on the morale of the soldiers, then the debate should be re-opened there. The military's function is to protect democracy.

Moreover, the politicizing of such issues undermines the military's faith in the civilian leadership that guides it. The military is quickly loosing its prestige, its traditional conservative values, and

occurred during a period of large-scale civil disobedience, as well as a time where peace was more popular than war. Since the effectiveness of the military depends a great deal upon society's support, when society's support dropped out of the war effort, the war effort in turn suffered. The ultimate defeat of the United States in the Vietnam War effort only lead to less faith in the military's ability. This set

today, as politicians battle through a virtual minefield of tradition and equal rights.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Gays Military, Armed Forces, War II, San Francisco, Vietnam War, Emancipation Proclamation, Capitol Hill, Military Forces, Americans Reinstating, Cold War, homosexuals military, military service, vietnam war, war effort, gays served military, gay service, armed forces, hell week, serving military, separate barracks, gays served, homosexuals serving military, hell week marines,
Approximate Word count = 1836
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)