Homosexual Personnel Policy in the Canadian Forces
| Author | Aaron Belkin,Jason McNichol |
| Published date | 01 March 2001 |
| Date | 01 March 2001 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002070200105600105 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
AARON
BELKIN
&
JASON
McNICHOL
Homosexual
personnel
policy
in
the
Canadian
Forces
Did
lifting
the
gay
ban
undermine
military
performance?
AS
THE
NUMBER
OF COUNTRIES
THAT
PERMIT
GAY
and
lesbian
sol-
diers
to
serve
in
the
armed
forces grows,
it
is
increasingly
important
to
determine
whether
official
decisions
to include
homosexual
service
members
in
the
military
lead to
changes
in
organizational
perfor-
mance.
Although
most
member
countries
of
the
North
Atlantic
Treaty
Organization
(NATO),
along
with
a
handful
of
other
nations,
allow
gay
and
lesbian
soldiers
to
serve,
there
has
been
little
empirical
analysis of
whether
the
decision
to
lift
a
gay
ban
influences
the
ability
of
armed
forces
to
pursue
their
missions.
Theoretical
studies have
addressed
this
topic,
but
there
has
been
no
in-depth
empirical
work
on
the
conse-
quences
of
a
decision to
lift
a
gay
ban.
Canada
is
a
case
in
point.
A
few
careful
studies
appeared
in
the
immediate
aftermath
of
Canada's
decision
in
1992
to
abolish
restric-
tions
on
gay
and
lesbian
soldiers.
However,
the
long-term impact
of
the
new
policy
could
not
be
determined
in
those
early
studies, and
Aaron
Belkin
is
Assistant
Professor,
Department
ofPolitical
Science,
University
of
Californi"
Santa
Barbara
and
Director,
Center
for
the
Study
of
Sexual
Minorities
in
the
Military.
Jason
McNichol
is
a
doctoral
candidate,
Department
ofSociologo
University
of
Califbrnia,
Berkeley.
The
authors
are
extremely
grateful
to
Rhonda
Evans
for
her
considerable
role
in
conducting
research
and
preparing
the manuscript
and
to
the
interviewees
who
gave
generously
oftheir
time.
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Aaron
Beikin
&
Jason
McNichol
even
the
most
thorough
analyses
was
based
on
few
sources.'
In
1993,
an
American
officer,
Lt
Gen
Calvin
Waller,
stated
that
because
Canada
had
not
been
involved
in
armed
conflict
since
the
ban
was
lifted:
'We
really
do
not
know what
those
results
are
going
to
be.'
2
Our
rationale
for
considering
the
evidence
that
has
accumulated
over
the
eight
years
since
the
ban
was
lifted
is
that
senior
Canadian
officials
predicted
that
changing
the
policy
might
compromise
military
effectiveness.
Hence,
the
Canadian
experience
affords
an
opportunity
to
assess
the
impact
of
the
policy change
against
early
forecasts
by
senior
military
leaders.
After discussing
the
historical
evolution
of
homosexual personnel
pol-
icy
in
Canada,
we
examine
whether
Canada's
decision to
abolish
restrictions
on
gay
and
lesbian
soldiers
influences
military
effective-
ness.
Our
findings,
based
on
a
review
of
primary
and secondary
sources,
as
well
as
interviews
with
29
military
personnel
and
experts
from
the
academic,
non-governmental,
and
policy
communities,
is
that
Canada's decision
to lift
its
gay
ban had
no
impact
on
military
per-
formance,
readiness,
cohesion,
or
morale?
HISTORICAL
EVOLUTION
OF
HOMOSEXUAL
PERSONNEL
POLICY
Before
1988,
gays
and
lesbians
were
prohibited
from
serving
in
the
Canadian
Forces.
The
military
did
not
allow
openly
gay
recruits
to
enlist, dismissed
soldiers
who
were
discovered
to
be
homosexual,
and
required
service
members
who
suspected
another
soldier
of
being
gay
to
inform
their commanding
officer.
The
pre-1988
policy,
outlined
in
regulation
CFAO
19-20, 'Homosexuality-Sexual
Abnormality-Inves-
tigation,
Medical
Examination
and
Disposal,' stated:
'Service
policy
does
not
allow
homosexual
members
or
members
with
a
sexual
abnor-
mality
to
be
retained
in
the
Canadian
forces.
4
i
See,
for
example,
Rosemary
Park,
'Opening
the
Canadian
Forces
to
gays and
les-
bians:
an
inevitable
decision
but
improbable
reconfiguration,'
in
W.J.
Scott
and
S.C.
Stanley,
eds,
Gays
and
Lesbians
in
the
Military:
Issues,
Concerns,
and Contrasts
(New York:
Aldine
de
Gruyter
1994),
165-79.
2
Quoted
in
United States,
Senate
Armed
Services
Committee,
Policy
Concerning
Homosexuality in
the
Armed
Forces
(Washington
DC
29
April
1993),
399.
3
Space
constraints
preclude
listing
the
172
primary
and
secondary
sources
and
the
29
personal communications.
The
authors,
however,
are
happy
to
make
this
infor-
mation
available
to
interested
researchers.
4
Quoted
in
David
Vinneau,
'Human
rights/key
charter
fights
gay
fights
for
career
in
military,'
Toronto
Star,
15
April
1989,
D5.
74
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