US Military Told to Drop Sodomy
365Gay.com,
May 31, 2001
By Paul Johnson
Most states in the US are slowly dropping laws against sodomy. But, it is
still illegal in the military.
A commission reviewing the Uniform Code of Military Justice has recommended
the statute be repealed. Calling enforcement of the law "arbitrary, even
vindictive," the Cox Commission recommended that Congress repeal the
statute and replace it with a statute governing sexual abuse similar to laws
adopted by many states
Headed by Judge Walter Cox, the commission’s recommendations have been
forwarded to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who has ordered a
comprehensive review of Pentagon personnel policies. The report will also be
shared with the Chairman and Ranking Members of the Senate and House
Committees on Armed Services and to the Code Committee on Military Justice
The Servicemembers Legal Defence Network hailed the report. SLDN director
C. Dixon Osburn, praised the commission’s recommendation. "The
commission is appropriately urging Congress to step into the present and do
right by our men and women in uniform. The military ‘s sodomy law is
antiquated and should be repealed."
The commission was sponsored by the National Institute of Military Justice
in coordination with The George Washington University Law School. The members
of the commission, in addition to Judge Cox, include Rear Admiral John S.
Jenkins, JAGC, USN (Ret.), Senior Associate Dean at The George Washington
University Law School; Professor Mary M. Cheh, also of The George Washington
University Law School; Captain Guy R. Abbate, Jr., JAGC, USN (Ret.), senior
instructor at the Naval Justice School; and Lieutenant Colonel Frank J.
Spinner, USAF (Ret.), a private practitioner of military law.
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