Don't Ask Don't Tell on the way out? by Niki2

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Don't Ask Don't Tell on the way out?

POSTED BY: NIKI2
UPDATED: Sunday, February 7, 2010 13:58
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Sunday, January 31, 2010 10:44 AM

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Think this is it? Is it the year we'll finally see the end to this travesty? And--I hesitate to ask--is there anyone here who's actually in favor of KEEPING it?

Quote:
Lawmakers gearing up for 2010 "don't ask, don't tell" fight

Last week nearly 100 members of Congress sent a letter for Defense Secretary Robert Gates requesting details on servicemembers discharged in 2009 under the military's ban on homosexuals serving openly in the ranks.
The statistics -- how many troops, their years of service, their job specialties -- will be the backbone of arguments in favor of overturning the "don't ask, don't tell" law when both the House and Senate hold hearings on the issue sometime this spring.

The lawmakers are also requesting the Pentagon provide monthly updates on numbers of troops being kicked out because of the law, so "the public will get a clearer picture of the continued costs and damage to our national security inflicted by this policy."

The request includes the signature of only one Republican lawmaker -- Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, of Florida -- and largely mirrors the supporters list of the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal measure sponsored by Pennsylvania's Rep. Patrick Murphy (although that bill has 186 co-sponsors).

And the letter also lays out the financial arguments against the ban, citing a 2006 Blue Ribbon Commission’s report on "don't ask, don't tell" that suggested the sexual-orientation discharges cost the Pentagon more than $360 million from 1994 until 2003.

Pentagon officials have not yet responded to the request. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., has said lawmakers may seek legislative action to mandate the monthly reports if the Defense Department does not cooperate.

http://www.palmcenter.org/press/dadt/in_print/lawmakers_gearing_2010_d
ont_ask_dont_tell_fight Pledges: 2010 Means Ending ’Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’

As Adam Nagourney, who wrote a definitive history of gay rights and American politics, pointed out in the New York Times, there is a bit of ambiguity in his remarks. If he placed a timeframe on ending the policy, known as "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell," he did specify whether the policy would be ending in 2010, or whether the process would begin this year.

Rea Carey, executive director of the Task Force, admonished the president to "provide a concrete blueprint for his leadership and action moving forward," including immediately ending discharges under the current policy.

"The time for broad statements is over. The time to get down to business is overdue. We wish we had heard him speak of concrete steps tonight."

The difference is much more than semantics. If he meant ending this year, he may well have been implying that he would use executive privilege, the way President Harry Truman racially integrated the Armed Forces after World War II.

If, however, he meant only that he would press congressional allies to begin the process, that implies that he is putting the onus on Congress. That would prove much more problematic. Even though the policy has come under fire in recent years from more and more Republicans and those on the right, it still remains controversial.

The United States, however, is looking increasingly out of step as its allies one by one get rid of any gay discrimination. Argentina, for example, eliminated any gay discrimination and allowed gay military to serve openly.

Critics of the policy point to Israel, one of the first (if not the first) nation to do so--and no one believes that the Israeli military, long considered perhaps the finest force in the world, has been compromised.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have put increased pressure on the military as well. Closeted gay Americans serve next to allied troops where there is no such policy. They--and their officers--see a cohesive unit, without any of the shibboleths about showering or bunking together.

Theresult [of don't ask don't tell] has been what some call a witch hunt to ferret out homosexuals. Several prominent and decorated servicepeople have come out since the policy, many more in recent years.

More significantly, public opinion polls show that a large majority of Americans now believe homosexuals should serve openly. A Washington Post-ABC News poll taken last year showed 75 percent believe that--including 66 percent of those self-identifying as conservative.

....

Whether they will bipartisan support remains at best cloudy. Ariz. Sen. John McCain, who opposed Obama in the 2008 election, has already announced that he will oppose the repeal.

"In his State of the Union address, President Obama asked Congress to repeal the ’Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. I am immensely proud of, and thankful for, every American who wears the uniform of our country, especially at a time of war, and I believe it would be a mistake to repeal the policy," McCain said.

He maintained that military leaders’ opinion was "It’s working, so leave it alone." Wartime isn’t the correct time to change policy, he added.

http://www.edgedallas.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=10163
7 "Don't Ask" Comments Cause Unease
Some Members of Congress and Pentagon Officials Oppose Changes to the Policy on Gays in the Military

President Barack Obama is urging Congress to repeal the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, but Democratic allies and Republican opponents alike are criticizing his approach.

Obama's effort to eliminate the "don't ask, don't tell" practice faces resistance not just from Congress, but also from the Pentagon, where some top officials have been strident in their support for the Clinton-era policy.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/28/politics/main6151237.shtml opposes repeal of 'Don't ask, don't tell'

The leading House Democrat on military policy said Friday that he opposes repealing the law that bans openly gay people from serving in the military.

I am personally not for changing the law," he said during a C-SPAN "Newsmakers" interview that will air Sunday.

Because the military is engaged in two major conflicts, in Afghanistan and Iraq, changing the law would create "disruption" that can cause some "serious problems," Skelton said during the interview.

He said the full House Armed Services Committee won't hold a hearing on the repeal of the law. Rather, the Personnel subcommittee will hold the hearing at some point this year.

Skelton also said he would oppose efforts to repeal the law in Congress — setting the stage for a potentially intense debate within his own committee with Democrats who want to see the law repealed.

Meanwhile, Skelton's Senate counterpart, Carl Levin (D-Mich.), said that the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on the issue at the end of January.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday that he and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen are prepared to testify before the Senate.

Gates said at a press briefing that there are continuing conversations within the Pentagon about "implementing the president's intent."

The Pentagon has moved slowly on the issue and there have been reports of internal dissent on how fast changes to the law should be instituted.

http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/21016

Believe it or not, there are some who want to keep it. Comments to the above article included:

Quote:
Armies and societies for centuries (millenia) have kept queers in the closet. Why would we be so stupid as to openly allow "GAYS" to serve now? That's stupid. Centuries of common sense should not be flushed for political correctness, in the military or in society.
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As to "knowing" who's gay? So what? They kept it in the CLOSET, like they should, so EVERYONE was happy! That's the way it worked (as you were witness to), and that's the way it should stay. If it ain't broken, don't freakin' break it!

The military is not an experimental playground for social engineering. When that happens, we are WEAKER. We are weaker for other reasons already, thanks to Obama and liberalism, but that's no reason to be weaker yet.
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Being queer is immoral.

Making it public is even MORE immoral, and that part, we don't have to allow. (We in this case, is MANKIND.)
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I find it hard to believe too, and I still am in contact with some of my contemporaries who serve in command status, that a social deviant could perform well in an elite status combat group. The team concept, to my way of thinking, could not accept a gay member.

Perhaps in a support, or staff function such an individual could perform satisfactorily.

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Monday, February 1, 2010 5:42 PM

WULFENSTAR

http://youtu.be/VUnGTXRxGHg

"And--I hesitate to ask--is there anyone here who's actually in favor of KEEPING it?"

Only in the interests of privacy.

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010 2:38 AM

JONGSSTRAW

America needs to have an all-gay military.

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010 3:00 AM