President Clinton addressed the issue of gays in the military as one of the first issues in his administration, and he was roundly criticized for making this his first challenge. He had originally proposed eliminating the ban on gays in the military outright. Ultimately, though, Clinton settled for what has been characterized as a "don't ask, don't tell" policy. In essence, this leaves the ban on gays in the military in force in that any gay behavior would be grounds for dismissal. The new policy means that recruits will not be asked their sexual orientation, and if they do not tell, no one will challenge them. If they are found out to be gay, however, it is unclear what the consequences would be, which is one of the problems with the new policy. This is the dilemma now facing Horatio Hornblower--he is being asked to promise that he will not engage in any homosexual activity, and he feels this is an invasion of his privacy.
The issue of homosexuality in any form is not addressed directly by the U.S. Constitution, though some case law has developed over issues related to homosexual rights in society. Recent cases have combined issues of homosexual rights with the question of privacy. The right to privacy is also not mentioned in the Constitution, though it has come to be championed as an unenumerated right existing in the penumbra of clauses in the Constitution. Cases involving the Fourth Amendment may deal with guards against physical and electronic snooping by the police. Libel cases under the First Amendment involve claims that someone has published damaging information about another person. Everyone has an interest in guarding the accuracy of and access to certain kinds of information, such as credit reports, bank accounts, letters of recommendation, and so on. This latter dimension is protected largely by state and federal statutes. Another dimension of privacy involves questions of "life styles" and control of a pe...