The Daily Caller on Wednesday published an op-ed in which the author blamed gay men in the military for the uptick in reported sexual assaults.
“Military Sexual Trauma (MST) is on the rise for both men and women, according to a Pentagon report earlier this year that was widely covered in news outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Associated Press, Reuters, and CNN,” David Benkof wrote. “But virtually none of that coverage addressed an obvious aspect of the problem: the 2011 introduction of open service by gays and bisexuals undoubtedly has increased the incidence of sexual assault against men in uniform.”
Benkof argues that sexual assaults on men in the military started to rise after the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in 2011, even though he notes that many experts don’t attribute the rise to gay service members.
“Astonishingly, many experts interviewed in articles on this topic, as well as gay community leaders, argue that the rapists involved are usually heterosexual,” he wrote.
As Media Matters noted, researchers have not found evidence that allowing openly gay individuals to serve in the military has led to an increase in sexual assaults. An some argue that the DADT policy discouraged people from reporting incidents of male-on-male rape for fear of being discharged.
Benkof doesn’t argue for the return of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but instead tells readers not to trust the gay community.
“The LGBT community, which regarding marriage has shown a willingness to use deception to achieve its policy goals, must be held to a high standard of proof. Media, legislators, and voters should do their own research before trusting gay community slogans that often turn out to be misleading, incomplete, or downright false,” he said.
David Benkof described himself as a “formerly sexually active gay man who has been celibate for more than 13 years” in an April essay. He became celibate when he “no longer really bought the supposed Jewish justifications for affirming gay sexuality.”
