The backwards policy that requires homosexuals to hide that fact in order to serve their country survived a vote to repeal it. American heroes apparently don’t have the right to be gay.
The vote went down party lines. It’s always great to see Republicans supporting only those troops they deem normal. Perhaps they should change their version of the ribbons to “Support the troops, unless I have some personal problem with them, in which case screw the troops.” The only thing they’ll have to live with is knowing they are still supporting gay troops that are good at hiding it.
It’s amazing to me that someone who is willing to fight and possibly die in service of America can only do so as long as they hide their sexuality. We’re have tons of troops deployed, many have been more than once, yet we find it necessary to kick people out for the arbitrary reason of their sexuality. That makes perfect sense. Straight soldiers can go ahead and talk about their significant others at home but gay soldiers best not let slip anything so horrible.
Over 13,000 heroes have been discharged since 1993. And there are no doubt thousands and thousands more that keep their identity hidden in order to continue serving. But it’s so important that we, what? I’m still not sure why it exists. Is it because it’s scarier serving with gays than it is to deal with enemy fire? “I know that person could help save lives and such, but that person likes people of the same sex.” I just can’t imagine that being a real statement.
There may yet be some ways to overcome the vote. Let’s hope so.
Enjoy Republicans being, yet again, on the wrong of history.
Adam Feser
4 Comments
login
Polls
Loading ...Recent Comments
- internal hemorrhoids treatments on Egypt Reactions
- like this on John Thune and Sotomayor
- jquery mobile tutorial on College Football/Nebraska-KSU Challenge
- discount learn css3 pdf on Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now aka ACORN
- site link on Rep. Weiner on Justice Thomas and the Appearance of Bias
- rate us online on House Officially Disapproves of Wilson’s Outburst
- rate us on Will Rogers Said It Best
- t1 circuit info on Good God Glenn
- reality show casting on Teacher takes Student the wood shed…
- insurnace companies on Vermont Legalizes Gay Marriage
Most Commented Posts
- Miss me yet (130)
- Arizona's Racist Law (119)
- Confessions of a Tea Party Casualty (83)
- Smoking Ban Thoughts and Poll (80)
- Tom Tancredo Wants Literacy Tests (76)
- The Apparent Trap/Hawaiian Health Care (62)
- Sarah Palin: Persecuted Jew? (57)
- Healthcare (53)
- Cash for Clunkers: What a joke! (50)
- Tom Coburn Has Pelosi's Back and a Point (49)
Blogroll
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Aug | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |
It is a policy that demands much more review than you give it here. First of the original reason for barring gays from service was security. It would be easy to blackmail someone into giving up military secrets if that person had something to hide… same is true with the military laws against adultery. There was also the issue of morale… but times are changing… when the military was desegregated soldiers who didn’t like serving with blacks just had to deal with it and were and still are punished for racism. You could do the same with homosexuals. Just integrate and say “that’s the way it’s going to be.” The military did take a leadership role in racial integration. What came first, military integration or Brown Vs Board of Education?
But… like it or not… there is still a huge stigma surrounding homosexuality. Even some homosexuals try to hide their sexuality… if being gay was truly ok… would you have people committing suicide because others found out about it? Even some gay people don’t want to admit they are gay… This is a hurdle and an issue that is much more complex than most people will admit… it can’t be debated with name calling and anger…there has to be real discussion or it won’t get solved.
But if you can serve openly what would there be to hide?
..
So the above wasn’t discussion? And you’re proving my point.
The stigma exists because of crap like DADT. If homosexuals weren’t treated like second-class citizens it would go a long way towards removing the stigma. It won’t stop parents from trying to “fix” their kids or disowning them, but when staying in the closet is government mandated, it implies they think it is something you should hide.
..
If some homosexuals in the military want to hide that fact, that is there business. But those that want to serve openly should have that right. As I’ve said, if a guy or gal is willing to lay down his or her life for us, we should be okay with them talking about their boyfriend or girlfriend of the same sex while they serve.
Right! Perhaps the military could work it like integrating the races. It was done, end of story. Any non-black who utters the word “nigger” is summarily punished and race-related offenses can be punished up to and including court-martial.
Fraternization at many levels is already illegal in the military. Sex on board Navy ships with women aboard is forbidden. Those same rules could apply to gays as well. It all works in theory. But in reality, how deep does the prejudice run? Would you see a drop off in enlistments because of it? How many years would it take to get over it? There are all sorts of questions that seemingly could be answered with a “just do it” statement. But humans have proven they don’t always to the right things just because it is right.
I don’t know many people my age that hold a prejudice against homosexuals. There are still some, but it’s moved far enough in the right direction that most people have at least one openly homosexual friend and therefore isn’t prejudiced. So I don’t think we would see dramatic reductions in enlistments. But that is purely conjecture. I do think either way we should just be doing the right thing, but we’re never quick to make that jump.