To the Editor:

''Bigotry in the Military'' (editorial, Aug. 30) correctly labels the military's policy on gay soldiers as discriminatory. There's no constitutional right to serve in the military, and the statutory homosexual ban is based on military necessity to maintain good order and discipline. For readiness reasons, the military also discriminates on the basis of such attributes as age, education, family status, physical fitness and drug use.

As one who served on the Pentagon task force that wrote the policy, I know that '''don't ask, don't tell'' was a compromise that pleased neither side. The Pentagon's new guidelines will further politicize the policy. Let's stop the charade. Discard the Clinton compromise and follow the law, which upholds the longstanding principle that homosexuality is incompatible with military service.

ROBERT L. MAGINNIS

Washington, Aug. 30, 1999

The writer is a senior director at the Family Research Council.