"Few heterosexual service members are extremely uncomfortable around homosexuals, and discomfort that does exist will diminish after lifting the ban."

A recent study in the current issue of International Security, however, refutes Secretary Powell’s concerns and shows that lifting the ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service members would not compromise the privacy of heterosexual troops. The study, titled A Modest Proposal: Privacy as a Flawed Rationale for the Exclusion of Gays and Lesbians from the U.S. Military, notes that heterosexual service members already bunk and shower with acknowledged gay and lesbian troops. The study also notes that, “Few heterosexual service members are extremely uncomfortable around homosexuals, and discomfort that does exist will diminish after lifting the ban.”

The study, written by Professor Aaron Belkin of the University of California-Santa Barbara and Melissa S. Embser-Herbert, also points to a new barracks construction program which will soon provide almost every member of the armed forces with private bedroom and bathroom facilities, again rendering concerns about privacy irrelevant.

“Professor Belkin’s study is well-documented proof that privacy is the latest flawed rationale for an indefensible policy,” said C. Dixon Osburn, Executive Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. “Secretary Powell’s remarks are simply unjustified. The Secretary has acknowledged in the past that gays and lesbians have served our nation well. They continue to do so today, and our armed forces benefit from their talents.”

Secretary Powell’s interview can be found at TeenInk.com. More information on Professor Belkin’s privacy study can be found online at the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military, at www.gaymilitary.ucsb.edu .