Can gay people be drafted
Psychiatry and Homosexuality Draft Exemptions during the Vietnam War
When Bob McIvery reported for his mandatory physical exam to settle if he could be drafted into the Army, the doctor didn’t feel he was homosexual. Although McIvery, a member of the Gay Liberation Front, had checked the “homosexual tendencies” box on his pre-induction medical form and stated verbally that he was homosexual, he was nonetheless classified as 1-A (available for military service). He was ordered to inform for induction in 1970 but did not do so and, after several months, was arrested and charged with failing to announce. Although he did eventually report—and at that time did not meet the standard on a different medical test—he was still prosecuted for his initial failure to describe. McIvery and his lawyer mounted the defense that his induction order was invalid because he could not legally be classified as 1-A. In their view, the Army couldn’t simultaneously disallow homosexuals and need them to describe for induction.1
The military barred gay men from service under medical fitness standards, so they were not supposed to be drafted. Yet doctors at induction centers didn’t always disqualify them, even when
Psychiatry and Homosexuality Draft Exemptions During the Vietnam War
When Bob McIvery reported for his mandatory physical exam to determine if he could be drafted into the Army, the healer didn’t believe he was gay. Although McIvery, a member of the Same-sex attracted Liberation Front, had checked the “homosexual tendencies” box on his pre-induction medical form and stated verbally that he was homosexual, he was nonetheless classified as 1-A (available for military service). He was ordered to report for induction in 1970 but did not do so and, after several months, was arrested and charged with failing to report. Although he did eventually report—and at that time did not meet the standard on a different medical test—he was still prosecuted for his initial failure to report. McIvery and his lawyer mounted the defense that his induction arrange was invalid because he could not legally be classified as 1-A. In their view, the Army couldn’t simultaneously ban homosexuals and require them to report for induction.1
The military barred lgbtq+ men from service under medical fitness standards, so they were not supposed to be drafted. Yet doctors at indu
Despite military conscription ending in 1973, the prospect of being drafted was a scenario on the minds of many gay men in the decades monitoring the Vietnam War. In 1980, as a response to Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan, President Jimmy Carter reinstated the system that required all men born in 1960 or later to register for the Selective Service within 30 days of their 18th birthday. This kicked off the fear of another military draft.
In October 1981, PGN published a highlight titled “Beat the draft: How gays can linger out of the military,” by Marc Killinger.
“Not only do military regulations prohibit homosexuality while in the armed forces, it prohibits anyone who knows they are gay from entering in the first place,” Killinger wrote. “Hence, adolescent gay men who are drafted face a double jeopardy of prohibitions.”
At the time, there was debate over whether or not the all-volunteer military was sufficient. When President Carter reinstated the Selective Service System, it ignited novel theories that a draft was imminent. Senator Stamp Hatfield (R-OR), who opposed the Vietnam War, was quoted as saying “If we had not had the draft, we would never have been at war for the length of
He clearly remembers the day when he received a phone from the military commissariat to go to the mandatory medical examination.
When he arrived, he found he couldn’t go through with his intend, however. He visited all the doctors, leaving the psychiatrist for last. When he finally entered the doctor’s office, he could not make himself state the words. In the end, it didn’t matter. After asking several questions, the doctor wrote that David had a neurosis, and sent him to Yerevan to be examined.
First, however, he had to travel to a psychiatric hospital in his hometown. He had no choice but to tell the doctors about his orientation. No one mistreated him there, Davit says, adding it was a surprise since he had heard many stories about people who were smash and beaten in the commissariat when they started speaking about being gay.
It was different at the psychiatric hospital in Yerevan. First, he was asked about problems in the family, his parents’ marital status, first sexual relations, male partners, whether he spent more time with his mother or father. Then they called the chief psychiatrist.
"The chief psychiatrist asked me if I thought there wer
7 Ways Americans Avoided the Draft During the Vietnam War
For most of the Vietnam War, full-time college students and graduate students were able to fetch a legal deferment from the draft. Since college was expensive, and Shadowy and minority college enrollment was low at the time, this is one of the loopholes that unevenly benefited middle- and upper-class white Americans.
“One of the points that’s very clear is that men with means—whether that's actually money, cultural or political capital, or a greater education—absolutely could get out of service a lot easier than folks without those things,” says Rutenberg. “Poor and working-class men, particularly men of shade , were disproportionately drafted.”
Similar to the effect on marriage and birth rates, there was a 4- to 6-percent increase in college attendance during the belated 1960s, when college students were automatically deferred. In 1971, most of the college and graduate pupil deferments were dropped except for divinity students and medical students.