Loading...
Loading...
On-Air Promo Creative 115x175
|| News ||
Page 1 of 1

Minorities Make Up Half of DADT Firings


MILITARY SOLDIERS ARMY X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM

Nonwhite military personnel are more likely than their white counterparts to be discharged under the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" law, according to information obtained by Servicemembers United.

While racial minorities account for approximately 29% of active service members, according to the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, about 45% of the 640 men and women discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" in fiscal year 2008 were nonwhite.

Alexander Nicholson, a former U.S. Army interrogator and the executive director of Servicemembers United, said the disproportionate number of women and racial minorities being discharged under the 16-year-old law was well known before the study. "These new numbers, however, show that the problem is getting worse and that this policy has ultimately failed," Nicholson said in a statement on Thursday. "Lawmakers have a responsibility to address this problem immediately, and the president should hasten the appointment of a new undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness who is qualified and willing to deal with this issue."

Women, who make up 15% of all armed forces, accounted for one third of "don't ask, don't tell" discharges.

Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Facebook. Page 1 of 1
Reader Comments
  • Name: Margaret Jackson
    Date posted: 9/16/2009 3:35:33 PM
    Hometown: Shelburne, VT

    Comment:

    Having been discharged from the Navy for "lifestyle" nearly 40 years before DADT, it took me several years before I realized I could leave that off my job applications since in the '50s women weren't assumed to have been in the service. That was not so for men in the same circumstances and could really mess up work prospects for work, in addition to the psychological damage of the official rejection. There is a lot of unnecessary damage going around lo these many years.

  • Name: lisa77
    Date posted: 9/11/2009 9:37:25 AM
    Hometown: new orleans

    Comment:

    The whole DADT is just plain crazy. Being gay does not affect your job performance. A straight worker is not any more qualified than a gay worker. A secure person would not care if they are working with a gay person. Is it because they are afraid a gay person might make advances towards their coworkers? I thought you were there to serve and risk your life for your country. Those who are afraid of that possibility should know that gay person most likely is just not that into you.

  • Name: Jason
    Date posted: 9/11/2009 4:17:52 AM
    Hometown: London

    Comment:

    Scott honey, it in proportion to the overall make up of the armed forces. "racial minorities account for approximately 29% of active service members" Yet they make up 45% of those discharged under DADT. So proportionately racial minorities are being worse affected than their white colleagues, since they count for a smaller percentage of overall army personnel, yet almost half of those being discharged. Clear?

  • Name: Scott E.
    Date posted: 9/11/2009 1:35:07 AM
    Hometown: Seymour, WI

    Comment:

    I'm confused. Does this mean that 55% of the servicemembers are white? If so, then the white males seem to be the ones being discharged the most since there are so many more subgroups to nonwhites (i.e. Hispanic, Asian, Black, and etc).

  • Name: Scott E.
    Date posted: 9/11/2009 1:34:44 AM
    Hometown: Seymour, WI

    Comment:

    I'm confused. Does this mean that 55% of the servicemembers are white? If so, then the white males seem to be the ones being discharged the most since there are so many more subgroups to nonwhites (i.e. Hispanic, Asian, Black, and etc).

  • Name: Scott E.
    Date posted: 9/11/2009 1:34:35 AM
    Hometown: Seymour, WI

    Comment:

    I'm confused. Does this mean that 55% of the servicemembers are white? If so, then the white males seem to be the ones being discharged the most since there are so many more subgroups to nonwhites (i.e. Hispanic, Asian, Black, and etc).

  • Name: Scott E.
    Date posted: 9/11/2009 1:34:16 AM
    Hometown: Seymour, WI

    Comment:

    I'm confused. Does this mean that 55% of the servicemembers are white? If so, then the white males seem to be the ones being discharged the most since there are so many more subgroups to nonwhites (i.e. Hispanic, Asian, Black, and etc).

  • Name: Scott E.
    Date posted: 9/11/2009 1:34:03 AM
    Hometown: Seymour, WI

    Comment:

    I'm confused. Does this mean that 55% of the servicemembers are white? If so, then the white males seem to be the ones being discharged the most since there are so many more subgroups to nonwhites (i.e. Hispanic, Asian, Black, and etc).

  • Name: cbjames
    Date posted: 9/10/2009 9:11:46 PM
    Hometown: Vallejo, CA

    Comment:

    What do you know. They're racist, too.



More Online Only
  • Music Thicke and Juicy

    Sexy soul singer Robin Thicke opens up about his Precious wife, homophobia in the music industry, and the gay men who’ve shaped his life and love since childhood. 

  • Internet Herman on Why He Wants to Stop H8

    Fitness trainer, Real World alum, and marriage equality advocate Scott Herman took some time between crunches to tell The Advocate that his concern for gay rights isn't manufactured, and he doesn't mind men checking him out.

  • News Celebration of Courage Not So Courageous

    Advocate contributor Michael Lucas says the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission needs to be doing more to stop violence against gays and lesbians in countries "oppressed by Islam."

  • Commentary The Truth Behind Her Name Was Steven

    Advocate contributor Eden Lane says CNN's Her Name Was Steven will help raise the visibility of trans people on TV, but the most compelling part of Susan Stanton's journey was left to a title card at the end of the film.

  • Television Laverne, Surely

    I Want to Work for Diddy alum Laverne Cox leads a trio of transgender ladies in VH1’s Transform Me, a new makeover show that flatters her hooker-heavy résumé.

  • Music Cherie’s Jubilee

    With The Runaways, the new film about her life with Joan Jett, pioneering rock star Cherie Currie is enjoying a renaissance ... with a little help from Dakota Fanning.

  • Activism Sex-Ed Student Turns Teen Activist

    When sex education classes at Danny Sparks's high school failed to address the issues important to him, he took matters into his own hands ... and became an activist in the process.

  • Photography Slideshow Flag Artist Spotlight: Ryan Colford

    From his "candy shoppe" line — sweet treats made oh-so sexy — to his black and white studies of the male form, photographer Ryan Colford exposes the beauty of the male body.

  • Commentary What Massa Could Learn From Ashburn

    COMMENTARY: Matthew S. Bajko says Republican California state senator Roy Ashburn deserves praise for coming out of the closet despite his antigay voting record. Now, if only former congressman Eric Massa would follow his lead.

  • Music The Truth About Tracy and Kim

    Don’t be tardy for this party! DJ Tracy Young comes clean — mostly — about her rumored lesbian relationship with Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak.

  • News Video Content Flag Kids Say the Darndest Things

    Micah Schraft and his boyfriend, John, were filming Micah's family at Thanksgiving when the 5-year-old son of a family friend wanted to know if the two were husbands. The result is a video you have to see. 

  • Commentary The Importance of Being Counted

    With benefits from boosting hate-crimes and marriage equality laws to simply letting legislators know gay Americans indeed exist, the 2010 Census is a chance to stand up and be counted.

1037 COVER X135 | ADVOCATE.COM