Ex-Joint Chief Chair Says Military Ready for Gays

Former Head of Joint Cheifs says the military is ready to accept homosexuals" John Shalikashvili, a "respected" former chair of the Joint Chiefs has come out publicly to support allowing gays to serve openly in the U.S. military. Citing the change in public opinion, which now supports allowing gays to serve in the military, and a recent Zogby Poll of soldiers in the military, he says the military should be able to move toward allowing gays to serve openly in the U.S. Military. The Zogby poll of 545 U.S. soliders found that 3/4 of the soldiers felt comfortable around gays. While 37 percent were still opposed to allowing gays to serve openly, 26 percent support allowing them to serve openly and 37 percent were neutral or had no opinion. Of those who knew gays were in their unit, 2/3 said it did not hurt morale. So much for the main anti-gay wing nut argument for discriminating against gays in the military. While Clinton should have kept his campaign promise and signed an executive order lifting the ban, the public and the military were not ready back in 1993 for the dramatic change. Now they are. Clinton was ahead of the times, as he was on universal health insurance. It looks like we may get both in the next decade, and catch up to the majority of "advanced democratic" countries that have universal health insurance and the growing number (Britain, Israel, etc.) who allow gays to serve in their military. Not that I would encourage gays to join the military and promote U.S. imperialism, but I support equal rights and oppose discrimination in any government institution.