Top-ranking lesbian cadet quits West Point over anti-gay military policy
A lesbian cadet offered her resignation this week to top US military academy West Point over the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which bars openly LGBT people from serving in the US armed forces.
As reported by Associated Press, Katherine Miller, a top-ranking sociology student about to enter her third year at the academy, would have been poised to sign a commitment to complete her final two years before going on to serve five years in the military.
However, Ms Miller said that she could no longer lie about her sexuality and that she was troubled by both the homophobic attitudes the DADT policy encouraged at West Point and that she had endured sexual harrassment in order to keep secret the fact that she is a lesbian.
In her resignation letter Ms Miller wrote: “I intend for my resignation to offer a concrete example of the consequences of a failed law and social policy.
“In short, I have lied to my classmates and compromised my integrity and identity by adhering to existing military policy.”
Although insistent she had not resigned under pressure from anyone, Ms Miller added that she had felt the need to concoct a false heterosexual history to share with her fellow cadets, should they ask, and that she had endured homophobic comments in conversation for fear of “being alienated by my viewpoint”.
Ms Miller will begin studying at Yale University this autumn and said she intends to continue to fight for a repeal of the DADT policy, adding that she would return to West Point for the academic year 2011-2012 if that were to happen.
