Yesterday marked the 14th anniversary of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The act passed under the Clinton administration requires any homosexual or bisexual person enrolled in the United States armed forces to keep their sexual orientation a secret. It also prohibits commanders from investigate their sexuality. If any members revel their sexuality they would be automatically discharged.
Military veterans and activists protested the act, arguing that the act forces citizens to lie, and discriminates against gays. The Human Rights Campaign estimates the policy is responsible for the discharge of 12,000 men and women in the military. This topic was brought up in the recent GOP CNN/ youtube debate. What do you think about this policy?
For more information go to http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/30/military.protest/index.html.
I agree with Bryan J. Scrafford's response (http://ambivalentmumblings.blogspot.com/2007/11/edwards-on-dont-ask-dont-tell.html) that gays should be able to openly serve in the military without fear of discriminate or discharge. After all, with the Iraq war still in process, we're going to need all the able bodied we can find.
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I really don't know what to think of this policy. It's easy to say that gays should be able to be open about their sexual orientation and still serve in the military, but I don't know if that would go smoothly. A lot of people forget that outside of California, people generally aren't as tolerant/accepting of homosexuality. So what I'm getting at is that having gays in the armed forces might not sit well with some troops. And it is important to have order and unity in the armed forces- not chaos and alienation. So while a lot of people point there finger at this policy and say it's discrimination, I think it's really just a policy that prevents chaos in our military. So while I do support this policy, I'm not saying I'm against gays in the military, I just think it would be easier on everyone if people kept their sexual orientation to themselves.
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