Dems Seek to End "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

[Kennedy 0]

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Congressional Democrats Seek End to 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
By Nathan Burchfiel
CNSNews.com Correspondent
April 13, 2005

(CNSNews.com) - Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee are pushing for a review and eventual appeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which allows homosexuals to serve in the armed forces only if they do not reveal their sexuality.

Seven members of the committee have called upon Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) to schedule review hearings on the policy. The request comes one month after the introduction of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, introduced by Congressman Marty Meehan (D-Mass.), which would abolish the "don't ask, don't tell" policy and allow homosexual soldiers to openly reveal their sexual preferences.

The policy was put in place by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and omits the question regarding sexuality on induction questionnaires. The policy did not change the law excluding homosexuals from military service.

C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network that supports the Meehan bill, said that "don't ask, don't tell was never a good policy ... [that] deserves to be repealed."

"Lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans are ready to answer our nation's call to service and work to protect our homeland and secure our freedoms," Osburn said. He commended Congress for "increasingly recognizing the futility of excluding those who want to serve."

Ron Schlittler, executive director of the homosexual advocacy group Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, said in a statement that "dispensing with the so called 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy can only strengthen our military and our nation."

According to Elane Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, repealing the policy would not change the law. 'Don't ask, don't tell' is not the law," she said. "'Don't ask, don't tell' is a policy put in place by Bill Clinton, and I agree that 'don't ask, don't tell' is a bad policy and ought to be eliminated."

Donnelly said there is "absolutely no need to repeal the law" that prohibits homosexuals from military service.

Citing the Congressional ban on homosexuals in the military from 1993, she said that heterosexuals should not be exposed to other servicemembers who might be sexually attracted to them when in situations of "forced intimacy" that are common in military service.

Donnelly said she disagreed with the argument that allowing gays to serve openly would increase recruitment numbers.

"If you want to hurt recruiting in the volunteer force, this would be the way to do it," Donnelly said. "There's no way that the American people would send their sons and daughters to serve in a military that has openly embraced the homosexual agenda for the military."

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
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[gjhdiver 0]

Anyone who uses the phrase "homosexual agenda" has already lost that battle. File it alongside such old favorites as "liberal elite media", or "jewish conspiracy" as examples of lazy thinking.

Gays are with us, have always been with us, and will always be with us. Some of the greatest military commanders in history have been queer. They serve in all other walks of life like the rest of us, and come in all shapes and colors. Why shouldn't they be allowed to serve their country like every other citizen if they want ? I would imagine that the last thing you're worried about in combat is who your buddies are doing on the weekends back home.

I seem to remember similar nonsensical arguments made to segregate black soldiers in WWII.

And another thing. I can absolutely guarantee that whoever you are, you've got gay friends and colleagues. Whether you know it or not is another matter. Would it change your opinion of them if you knew ?

[Kennedy 0]

A well written and "fair and balanced" article, wasn't it?

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[chuckbrown 0]

What's more interesting about this issue is that the military itself is moving away from enforcing this rule. Since the Iraq war began, discharges for violating the ban have noticeably decreased. I'd say the military is more out in front of this issue than our elected reps.

If I were in combat I wouldn't care if my foxhole buddy was checking my ass out, as long as he was protecting it.

[lawrocket 3]

I've long believed that the policy is a threat to security. Like it or not, there are gays in the military. It's a statistical certainty that there are gays:

1) In upper echelons of military brass;
2) With higher than TS clearances; and
3) In lower level operations planning

So, we've got a policy with built-in blackmail probabilities. "Hmm, Col. Snuffy, either you let us in with this information, or we provide these pictures we took to the press and to your higher ups. You rat us out, we'll do even worse."

Guess where I stood on the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy... It's where I still stand.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[TrophyHusband 0]

at least gays can't get pregnant to get out of a deployment like many women do.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[Ron 10]

I don't care if a guy is gay or not.

However, I will say that having been in the Infantry that some of the soldiers would try to beat the hell out of the guy if they found out.

Not smart, not even nice, but a very real fact.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[Andrewwhyte 1]

I didn't realize that the policy still existed. So why the fuck do we have to put up with these refugee cowards,.. err claiments up here in Canada? Why don't they just announce that they are gay and demand to be released as per US law?
Oh well at least the current law precludes the draft ever being reinstated.

[BIGUN 1,483]

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If I were in combat I wouldn't care if my foxhole buddy was checking my ass out, as long as he was protecting it.

He's looking the wrong way.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.