DSA Growing Strong!
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Showing posts with label U.S. Military. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U.S. Military. Show all posts
Monday, January 03, 2011
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Democrats Revisit Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Democrats Revisit Don't Ask, Don't Tell
emocrats are convening the first congressional hearing on the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy since its enactment 15 years ago. But they acknowledge there's no chance of repealing it this year.
Indeed their only hope of success, they say, is if Democratic Sen. Barack Obama gets elected president.
"We need a new president in order to get this passed" — specifically, a President Obama, Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., told reporters on a conference call Tuesday convened by the Human Rights Campaign and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
Obama wants to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" and will work with military leaders to get it done, his campaign website says. Republican opponent John McCain supports "don't ask, don't tell."
Tauscher's legislation to overturn the policy has 133 co-sponsors. But key Democrats including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., support the status quo, and there are no plans to bring the bill to a vote this year.
Tauscher said she has no interest in a "show vote" that her side might lose.
Instead, the hearing Wednesday in the Armed Services Committee's military personnel panel is meant to draw attention to the issue and to the growing public sentiment in favor of gay people serving openly in the military, Tauscher said.
In a Washington Post-ABC News poll over the weekend, 75% of respondents said openly gay people should be allowed to serve, up from 62% in early 2001 and 44% in 1993.
emocrats are convening the first congressional hearing on the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy since its enactment 15 years ago. But they acknowledge there's no chance of repealing it this year.
Indeed their only hope of success, they say, is if Democratic Sen. Barack Obama gets elected president.
"We need a new president in order to get this passed" — specifically, a President Obama, Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., told reporters on a conference call Tuesday convened by the Human Rights Campaign and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
Obama wants to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" and will work with military leaders to get it done, his campaign website says. Republican opponent John McCain supports "don't ask, don't tell."
Tauscher's legislation to overturn the policy has 133 co-sponsors. But key Democrats including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., support the status quo, and there are no plans to bring the bill to a vote this year.
Tauscher said she has no interest in a "show vote" that her side might lose.
Instead, the hearing Wednesday in the Armed Services Committee's military personnel panel is meant to draw attention to the issue and to the growing public sentiment in favor of gay people serving openly in the military, Tauscher said.
In a Washington Post-ABC News poll over the weekend, 75% of respondents said openly gay people should be allowed to serve, up from 62% in early 2001 and 44% in 1993.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Study: Gays in Military Don't Threaten Morale
Study: Gays in Military Don't Threaten Morale
As Gomer Pile would say, "Surprise, Surprise Surprise!"
Congress should repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy because the presence of gays in the military is unlikely to undermine the ability to fight and win, according to a new study released by a California-based research center.
The study was conducted by four retired military officers, including the three-star Air Force lieutenant general who in early 1993 was tasked with implementing President Clinton's policy that the military stop questioning recruits on their sexual orientation.
"Evidence shows that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly is unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline or cohesion," the officers states.
To support its contention, the panel points to the British and Israeli militaries, where it says gay people serve openly without hurting the effectiveness of combat operations.
Undermining unit cohesion was a determining factor when Congress passed the 1993 law, intended to keep the military from asking recruits their sexual orientation. In turn, service members can't say they are gay or bisexual, engage in homosexual activity or marry a member of the same sex.
The study was sponsored by the Michael D. Palm Center at the University of California at Santa Barbara, which said it picked the panel members to portray a bipartisan representation of the different service branches. According to its website, the Palm Center "is committed to keeping researchers, journalists and the general public informed of the latest developments in the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy debate."
Two of the officers have endorsed Democratic candidates since leaving the military — Army Lt. Gen. Robert Gard, who supports Barack Obama, and Marine Corps Gen. Hugh Aitken, who backed Clinton in 1996.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Minter Alexander, a Republican, was assigned in 1993 to a high-level panel established by the Defense Department to examine the issue of gays in the military. At one point, he signed an order that prohibited the military from asking a recruit's sexual orientation.
Alexander said at the time he was simply trying to carry out the president's orders and not take a position. But he now believes the law should be repealed because it assumes the existence of gays in the military is disruptive to units even though cultural attitudes are changing.
Further, the Defense Department and not Congress should be in charge of regulating sexual misconduct within the military, he said.
"Who else can better judge whether it's a threat to good order and discipline?" Alexander asked.
Navy Vice Adm. Jack Shanahan said he had no opinion on the issue when he joined the panel, having never confronted it in his 35-year military career. A self-described Republican who opposes the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war, Shanahan said he was struck by the loss of personal integrity required by individuals to carry out "don't ask, don't tell."
"Everyone was living a big lie — the homosexuals were trying to hide their sexual orientation and the commanders were looking the other way because they didn't want to disrupt operations by trying to enforce the law," he said.
------
While some Republican strategists are urging John McCain to use gays in the military as a "wedge" issue in the 2008 election, they seem to be ignoring the polls which show that the public now overwhelmingly supports the right of gays and lesbians to serve in the U.S. military.
Even 73% of the U.S. military is OK with gays serving in the military!
As Gomer Pile would say, "Surprise, Surprise Surprise!"
Congress should repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy because the presence of gays in the military is unlikely to undermine the ability to fight and win, according to a new study released by a California-based research center.
The study was conducted by four retired military officers, including the three-star Air Force lieutenant general who in early 1993 was tasked with implementing President Clinton's policy that the military stop questioning recruits on their sexual orientation.
"Evidence shows that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly is unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline or cohesion," the officers states.
To support its contention, the panel points to the British and Israeli militaries, where it says gay people serve openly without hurting the effectiveness of combat operations.
Undermining unit cohesion was a determining factor when Congress passed the 1993 law, intended to keep the military from asking recruits their sexual orientation. In turn, service members can't say they are gay or bisexual, engage in homosexual activity or marry a member of the same sex.
The study was sponsored by the Michael D. Palm Center at the University of California at Santa Barbara, which said it picked the panel members to portray a bipartisan representation of the different service branches. According to its website, the Palm Center "is committed to keeping researchers, journalists and the general public informed of the latest developments in the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy debate."
Two of the officers have endorsed Democratic candidates since leaving the military — Army Lt. Gen. Robert Gard, who supports Barack Obama, and Marine Corps Gen. Hugh Aitken, who backed Clinton in 1996.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Minter Alexander, a Republican, was assigned in 1993 to a high-level panel established by the Defense Department to examine the issue of gays in the military. At one point, he signed an order that prohibited the military from asking a recruit's sexual orientation.
Alexander said at the time he was simply trying to carry out the president's orders and not take a position. But he now believes the law should be repealed because it assumes the existence of gays in the military is disruptive to units even though cultural attitudes are changing.
Further, the Defense Department and not Congress should be in charge of regulating sexual misconduct within the military, he said.
"Who else can better judge whether it's a threat to good order and discipline?" Alexander asked.
Navy Vice Adm. Jack Shanahan said he had no opinion on the issue when he joined the panel, having never confronted it in his 35-year military career. A self-described Republican who opposes the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war, Shanahan said he was struck by the loss of personal integrity required by individuals to carry out "don't ask, don't tell."
"Everyone was living a big lie — the homosexuals were trying to hide their sexual orientation and the commanders were looking the other way because they didn't want to disrupt operations by trying to enforce the law," he said.
------
While some Republican strategists are urging John McCain to use gays in the military as a "wedge" issue in the 2008 election, they seem to be ignoring the polls which show that the public now overwhelmingly supports the right of gays and lesbians to serve in the U.S. military.
Even 73% of the U.S. military is OK with gays serving in the military!
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