February 22, 2010

New York Times Reports Palm Center Study On Foreign Militaries

SANTA BARBARA, CA,  — The New York Times today is reporting the release of a new 151-page Palm Center study on gays in foreign militaries.  The report, which will come out Tuesday, concludes that foreign militaries that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly achieved success by implementing an inclusive policy quickly and under decisive leadership. The study, “Gays in Foreign Militaries 2010: A Global Primer,” is the largest ever study on the experiences of foreign militaries. Its principal author is Palm Senior Research Fellow, Dr. Nathaniel Frank, who last year published the book, “Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America.” Contributing to the report was Palm Center Director, Dr. Aaron Belkin, as well as a retired Captain in the Canadian Forces and several other experts on gender, sexuality, and military personnel policy.

Other key conclusions of the new study are that preliminary findings that open gays do not disrupt military effectiveness hold over time, including in Britain, whose policy of non-discrimination marked its ten-year anniversary last month; that successful transitions did not involve creating separate facilities or distinct rules for gays or straights; and that the U.S. has a long tradition of turning to foreign armed forces as relevant sources of information about effective military policy.

Click here to see the New York Times coverage.