Some Guys Are Normal

Don't Ask Don't Tell

Did you ever know that the full name of this policy is, "Don't Ask Don't Tell, Don't Pursue Don't Harass? I found that out about a year ago, and I was shocked, to say the least. Basically, gays are allowed in the military as long as they don't become public with their sexual orientation. But, the nearly always deleted part of the bill also says that the military is not going to pursue or harass gays to figure out if they are, in fact, gay.

The odd thing is, there are lots of gays that get discharged from the military under Don't Ask Don't Tell that never come out on their own volition. If a military member gets caught in a gay bar, even while not on active duty, it is possible to launch an investigation. To me, that really doesn't hold up the full spirit of the policy.

The main reason I wanted to post though, is that newer studies show that public polls now show that a pretty good majority of the nation are in favor of repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. This article mentions the polls.

The anti-gay marriage folks are always saying that a Constitutional Ammendment is the only way to let the people speak on the issue of gay marriage. So, if they are so big on letting the people speak on gay issues, why not send Don't Ask Don't Tell to a popular vote? Why not compromise? We will all agree to send both policies to a popular vote. Ok, so maybe it is not a good compromise, but it would be nice to at least be fair. The anti-gay camp should just admit that they aren't interested in a popular vote on gay rights unless the popular vote shows what they want it to show. This isn't about public opinion, folks.

posted by Brady @ 9:31 AM