European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 25, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Ban on Gays must prevail until rules change of f i Twatt Ltd i it.  a. A a the Issue of homosexuals in the military did not begin with president elect Clinton but it is turning out to be his personal Nemesis. In greek mythology she was the goddess of retributive Justice or vengeance. Clinton so a loathing of the military during the Vietnam War is being returned full Force by the loathing of those who oppose his Campaign pledge to Issue an executive order lifting the ban on homosexuals in the military. Whether from sen. Sam Nunn the powerful Democrat from Georgia who Heads the Senate armed services committee or army Gen. Colin l. Powell chairman of the joint chiefs of staff or the american legion or the jewish War veterans organization or the Reserve officers association or the National guard association or the non commissioned officers association or those Active duty officers 1 spoke with during recent lectures at the military staff colleges the response has been overwhelmingly negative. The depth of feeling has been especially intense. The Issue As the homosexual Community and its a supporters see it is simply a matter of civil rights. The comparison supporters say is to the Black civil rights movement and to the integration of Blacks into the armed forces which in 1948 was mandated by an executive order from president Harry s. Truman. It is an argument rejected by Powell. A skin color is a benign non behavioural characteristic a he said in a letter to rep. Patricia Schroeder d-colo., who had chided him for supporting the department of defense policy. A sexual orientation is perhaps the most profound of human behavioural characteristics. Comparison of the two is a convenient but invalid  what then is the valid argument a the supreme court has Long recognized that a the differences Between the military and civilian communities result from Tjie fact that it is the business of armies and navies to fight or be ready to fight wars a a retired col. William a. Woodruff formerly a member of the army a office of the judge advocate general pointed out in a recent article. A the debate raging today Over the homosexual exclusion policy centers on the question of whether the combat effectiveness of the military forces will be enhanced by the elimination of the homosexual exclusion  lost in this ideological Battle arc the homosexuals themselves. Many have served and Are serving in the military with distinction rendering seemingly moot the argument that homosexuals in and of themselves would destroy military combat effectiveness. But they have Only done so by hiding their sexual orientation Harry g. Summers or. And by concealing their homosexual conduct. They did so for Good reason for department of defense policy requires that known homosexuals be immediately discharged from the military service. Homosexual acts need not be proved Woodruff said. A the policy presumes that one who admits to being a homosexual will engage in the conduct that defines the  a Clinton executive order would result in a classic catch-22. Homosexuals could be in the military but the very acts that define their homosexuality would continue to be banned. Ending that contradiction is not within Clinton a Power for the Constitution reserves to Congress alone the Power a to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval  . Code 925 article 125 of the uniform code of military Justice condemns sodomy As a criminal act. Critics say american society has changed dramatically since that Law was passed in 1950. The sin that then a dare not speak its name now wont shut up about it. But Woodruff disagreed a they do not seriously believe that the military still clings to outmoded concepts of a right and wrong Long abandoned by Amer ican society. What they Are really trying to do is get the military to Lead the charge to change the prevailing values of society. A the Efficacy of the arguments against the homosexual exclusion policy and ultimately the appropriateness of the policy itself must be judged by Public opinion reflected through the actions of elected representatives in  meanwhile Good military order and discipline must prevail. Within the military sexual orientation gender race and religious differences must be subordinated to the common Good. If there is a parallel with the Black experience it is not with racial integration but with the racially divisive Black Power activism that later almost Tore the military apart. When it comes to homosexuals Powell said a the armed forces. Will do what we Are told to  but the in your face antics of act up an aids activist group remain intolerable for they jeopardize the teamwork crucial to Battlefield Success. As commander in chief Clinton will discover that a the Bottom line. C Tho los Antolos times Domestic Tranquility missing in nation s cities Paul of Connor a White Middle class businessman who coaches baseball and basketball teams for Young Black men from Chicago a Cabrini Green Public housing project recalls telephoning one of his players. Because o Connor was having trouble hearing the player Over the Roar of what sounded like a War movie he asked him to turn Down the television. The player said the television was t on that what of Connor was hearing was a firefight a perhaps two gangs settling a business dispute from the drug Trade a outside the players apartment. The . Constitutions preamble begins a we the people of the United states in order to form a More perfect Union establish Justice insure Domestic Tranquility. A a we the people of the state of Illinois a begins another Constitution have ordained and established government in order to provide for the a a safety of the people and to a insure Domestic  hold it right there. The Federal government in its eerie self absorption de dares a a War on this and that a drugs poverty crime whatever. But in americans cities where the irrelevance of government often including state and City governments is increasingly assumed the word a a War is less a silly metaphor than a reasonable denotation. Quot this a says of Connor driving through an intersection Quot is the Doz. Crossing this Street Means moving from one gangs turf to another a no minor matter. Of Connors baseball team plays on a Field inferior to another Field a few blocks away but to get to the better Field his players from the Whites White High rises in Cabrini Green controlled by one gang would have to walk by a the reds a which Are controlled by another gang. There is too Little Domestic Tranquility a too Many snipers a for that. Of Connor who commutes to his suburban office and his wife Holly who works downtown live a few blocks from the Lake in a tidy Placid neighbourhood near Cabrini Green which is another world. You know muses Paul How country kids can imitate the sounds of various Birds one of Paul a players can replicate the sounds of different guns a .357-caliber magnums semiautomatic weapons a including the different sounds of gunshots echoing off bricks Concrete and cinder blocks. The of Connors frequently have some of the players overnight at their Home. A recent nights guests were Tim and George of will Abdul who at age 15 have almost made it out of childhood. That is no mean achievement in a neighbourhood where some mothers hard pressed to put food in front of their children nevertheless pay monthly premiums for their children a burial insurance. Tim is an Alert slight Sparrow of a boy who is determined to be a College athlete. Where a a univ University of Nevada Las vegas a he answers seeming amazed that such an obvious answer needs to be Given. Many Young men in Michael Jordan a City cling to the Hope that sports will be their Way of getting out of the City. Abdul a lanky Amateur rap Singer and clothes designer seems More focused on life a foreground. Understandably he lives in the High Rise where Dantrell Davis aged 7, lived and recently died shot by a sniper. Abdul knows the 33-year-old Man charged with the shooting. The Man Umpire some of Abdul a baseball games. Both boys heading off for a Day in ninth Grade have made it past one of the milestones of Uncertain life in the inner City. It is a melancholy fact Paul of Connor says that Many Cabrini Green parents a mostly single women of course a make a great ceremony of eighth Grade graduation renting the graduates tuxedos for a big Bash. Given the High school dropout rate of More than 50 percent and Given the gunfire Pride in the eighth Grade achievement is mingled with the Bleak realization that there May never be an occasion for another graduation Celebration. In 1991, Alex Kotlowitz of the Wall Street journal published a remarkable Book about two boys growing up in the Quot be cts the Chicago Public housing projects. The title of the Book was the mothers response to his proposal to write about her children there Are no children Here. When Kotlowitz asked a 10-year-old what he wanted to be when he grew up the boy said Quot if i grow up id like to be a bus  if not when. When not if not if the of Connors have anything to say about it Tim and Abdul grow up they will have achieved adulthood with precious Little help from governments far or near. Representatives of the City government recently toured Cabrini Green picking a spot for a Small Park perhaps to be dedicated to one or All three of the pupils at the neighbourhood elementary school who have been murdered in the last eight months. A Park is better than nothing a people in Cabrini Green Lack Parks and every other necessity and amenity a but really what a spectacle. This is governments competence providing memorials to Young victims of its dereliction of its elemental duty to ensure Domestic Tranquility. C Tho Washington Post