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Time to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"Kudos to California Congresswomen Sue Davis and Ellen Tauscher for initiating what could be the beginning of the end of former President Bill Clinton's colossally stupid, discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy barring gays and lesbians from serving in the military. Congresswoman Davis held a hearing in the House Armed Services' Personnel Readiness Subcommittee yesterday. The Washington Post reported last weekend that a whopping 75 percent of Americans think that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military. (A CNN poll from May puts the figure as high as 79 percent.) Since enacting the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy 15 years ago, the military has dismissed more than 12,500 gay men and lesbians. ABC News reports that the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) "says nearly 800 of those dismissed had skills the Pentagon deemed 'mission critical.'" A recent 60 Minutes segment interviewed several soldiers—a few reported stories of being dismissed after their sexual orientation was discovered, but others shared stories of superiors who either looked the other way or accepted them. NPR featured a great segment on the policy today as well, reporting: Marine Sgt. Eric Alva, a gay man visited by President Bush after losing a leg to a landmine — the first U.S. casualty in the Iraq invasion — also testified.In May, the ACLU of Washington won an important case that struck a blow to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Click here to ask Congress to repeal this discriminatory policy and allow gay men and lesbians to openly and proudly serve their country.
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Jul 25th, 2008 at 12:45am
Another case of the ACLU protecting perversion.
When I was in the military, I was attacked by a pervert. They don't belong in the military. PERIOD. Unless you want to destroy the military...
Jul 27th, 2008 at 7:07pm
I was in the military for over seven years and speaking from experience homosexuals are more of a detriment than an asset. Whether or not the person is capable of performing their duties is insigniffigant to the effect they have upon moral and unit cohesion. The tension created by simply knowing that the person next to you might be homosexual adds tremendously to the pressures already faced by our men and women in uniform. It also endangers the lives of any persons known to be gay. Dont ask/dont tell is not perfect, but if you dont like it, then dont serve. People that say this isnt true probably have not served.