Posted on 01/14/2009 2:34:57 PM PST by Zakeet
President Obama will end the 15-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy that has prevented homosexual and bisexual men and women from serving openly within the U.S. military, a spokesman for the president-elect said.
Obama said during the campaign that he opposed the policy, but since his election in November has made statements that have been interpreted as backpedaling. On Friday, however, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, responding on the transition team's Web site to a Michigan resident who asked if the new administration planned to get rid of the policy, said:
"You don't hear politicians give a one-word answer much. But it's 'Yes'."
The little-noticed response, made in a video posted on change.gov, made barely a ripple outside blogs focused on the gay community, but that's not surprising, said those who have been pushing to overturn the ban. Not only was Obama's position expected, they said, but support for reviewing or repealing the policy has grown markedly in recent years, including from some unexpected quarters.
The end of "don't ask, don't tell" may not happen immediately, several critics of the policy said. Although they appreciate clarity from Obama on the issue, they anticipate that the demands of the economy and two wars are likely to trump a speedy policy reversal.
"The question isn't if we do it and the question isn't when we do it, it's how we do it," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, whose 2006 bill to repeal the ban earned broad support among Democrats in Congress but did not move forward in the face of a near-certain veto by President Bush.
"I'm going to reintroduce the bill in the next few weeks," Tauscher said. "We've got the American people behind us."
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Now this.
I am absolutely positive that Obama will turn our military over to the UN with Hillary baby at the Sec. of State post. We will have World-PC Euroweenie Socialist commanders telling our troops what to say and do. The funding will drop to almost nothing in order to be funneled into Obama’s “reinvestment/recovery” scam.
Then is when we will probably be attacked in a way that will make 9/11 look like a bee sting. I truly grieve for my country.
Actually there was a ban. Under President Reagan soldiers were asked if they were homosexual; a yes answer got you discharged.
How it still should be.
This has got me more than anything I have heard in a long time
Well said. It’s not the government’s right to dictate what goes on in the bedroom even if it is *shudders* homos.
Oh boy, it’s gonna be fun time in the barracks after that...
so because most do not approve of this you think we should all grow up
USAF right, well done on your service, I cannot speak for the airforce but I can speak for the marines and army .
You have no problems with them and you like them , fine but to come out with grow up because most of us do not go along with their perverted agenda or lifestyle is a , should I say it , yes immature
As regards your serving with gay Air Force members, my first thought was weren't they asked about this when they enlisted or were commissioned. I was; it was part of the security clearance. Among the reasons for this was that in many cases persons can be blackmailed as a result of closeted sexuality.
Most of the arguments on this thread are sound, but I think many miss the real elephant in the room. Look at it from a practical standpoint. Knowing that gay males have a much...MUCH higher disease risk than heteros, what will be the impact on the ever dwindling military medical resources. I don’t know the average cost of treating an AIDS patient, but I assume it is astronomical. Now imagine VA and military hospitals being flooded with AIDS patients, and the system will quickly break down. Too bad for those injured/disabled due in combat. To the waiting list for you.
With the much higher risk of infection due to contact with blood, is it much of a stretch to imagine someone a little reluctant to pull a badly bleeding buddy off the battlefield? When you can no longer count on the guy next to you to pull you out of the line of fire, unit cohesion will quickly evaporate. When this happens, it will be the end of the most effective military force known to mankind.
Just the opinion of a recently retired AF unit commander...
I guess it'll be safe for the new Commander-in-Chief to come out of the closet now?
So WTF, over?
Military coup or not?
Why not put the quash on all this sordid Marxist sh*t before it even starts?
If all the American military is so against this, and they are men of true honor... then is not the honorable thing to do that which defends the country from subversion?
Is it not proper to stop, by whatever means, this corruption?
I expect the American military to fight for this country and its honorable principles... not turn tail and run away.
You make some good points, and in addition to HIV there are issues of other diseases and complications that result from the sodomy. All I can say is that Walter Reed had better figure out which Wing is the designated rectal reconstruction.
See post 63.
It worked for you because of that tension I mentioned.
Open the doors to openly gays, and all that irrational homophobia as you call it, will cause a backlash that will gut the military. Many folks here, are not, as you see it, attacking fierce gay patriots. They just don’t want gay sex in their face, either by others or directed at them.
If you can’t see that there’s a difference, think of this: In boot camp, drill sergeants yell at people. It’s not good leadership, and it’s not the kind of thing that happens in military units, no matter how many times Hollywood portrays it as a never-ending screamfest. Only poor leaders need to scream all the time. But . . . there’s a purpose for the shock and awe of basic training and boot camp.
There’s also, I think, a good reason not to let sex behaviors of any flavor become the face of the military. In fact, your post proves my point. You didn’t have trouble because you weren’t propositioned. The topic didn’t come up (perhaps because of don’t ask don’t tell).
Trust in this bit of wisdom: Whether gay or not, you do NOT want sexual behavior running rampant in our military, and without doubt gay and lesbian is nothing if not a sexual behavior issue. And, if I may add, the record of the most blatant homosexuals can be quite distressing in the kind and quantity of outrageousness. Surely you can see that.
Now about that workplace where the women are aggressively propositioning you. Exactly where is this den of iniquity?
You were in the Air force, free from fighting a ground war. Take it from those of us who actually did. You have no clue what you are saying, or what we think or feel.
You hit a little bit on the problem, although the lifestyle itself is very dangerous and the medical problems can be considerable. I’ve always looked at this as a tragic form of mental illness and if the military starts enshrining the “perfectly normal” mantra in their sensitivity training they will start driving regular people out.
Israel, the UK, Australia and several other national armies allow homosexuals to serve openly. Why would it cause more problems for the United States Army?
Absolutely not. It is not the military's role to decide which laws or executive orders they should follow. The proper response for members of the military who disapprove of a change in existing policy is to resign their commission or not re-enlist.
If all the American military is so against this, and they are men of true honor... then is not the honorable thing to do that which defends the country from subversion?
Like it or not, Barrack Obama was legally elected President. That sticks in my craw, but I would be 100% opposed to the military overturning the will of the American people (no matter how misguided).
thank you I am so wound up right now
from his treasury appointment, to his socialist appointment, to this to the CIA appointment.
It just keeps getting worse.
I do believe that you are 100% correct in your post, this man will do so much damage to the military and yet there still will be people out there and maybe even on here(I hope not as I hope conservative should be together on this)
I have tried to explain that everything went heads up since 2006, and that is when the Dems got in , but most do not get it.
His appointments, his flip flops is being ignored. Every day I hear something about obama and I just want to be sick.
Then I see his arrogant smug look on the TV and think how the hell did you ever get where you are? How did you con so many people, while trying to hide your radical marxist views?
I too grieve.
Will obama now send the military after being trained to fight and kill go on a compassionate course or whatever it is called?
Of all the problems we are facing he wants to deal with homos being open in the military.
I believe we as a country and Israel are in for some rough times ahead.
Again , I may be going off here but I have never been so wound up as I ma right now.
The military is a great institution and does not need to be led by a man who seems to want to destroy it.
Is the media calling him for this flip flop or are they still licking his arse and boots?
bttt
It’s not the government’s right to dictate what goes on in the bedroom even if it is *shudders* homos.
so by that thinking should we let men and women bring animals into their beds at night so they can have sex with them too.
Hey you’re the one who thinks Govt shouldn’t be telling folk what not to do in the bedroom even if that bedroom is shared by 15 other men.
You think 15 other men in a room trying to get some sleep should have to put up with that?
Have you ever been there in that room?
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
Leviticus 20:13
If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
......Of all the problems we are facing he wants to deal with homos being open in the military...........
The militant Queeahs, a little Barnie Frank lingo there, will break and burn things if they don’t get their way.
A good earth quake in San Francisco might solve the problem.
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