Gays in the Military? (1 Viewer)

[26 X World Champs]

OK fellow DP'ers it's time to tell us where you stand regarding Gays in the Military. Are you OK with it? If you are, how come? If you're not OK with it, how come? Don't ask don't tell work for you?

What should happen to someone in the Military if they come "out of the barracks" so to speak?

 

[Joby]

Don't ask and do not tell.

If they come out of the closet, they should be removed from the service.

 

[26 X World Champs]

Don't ask and do not tell.

If they come out of the closet, they should be removed from the service.

Why? It's an all volunteer Military? Aren't we promoting intolerance if you discriminate against Gays? For example for the sake of argument imagine if Colin Powell was actually Gay and this fact was recently revealed, should he be booted out? Would it be an honorable discharge (how can it be if they're throwing you out for sexual preference)?

 

[tecoyah]

OK...so I decide I want to risk my life for the country I love....but wait, Boot me out because your an idiot who thinks God has it in for me.....

Fine...I'll just join up on the side that accepts me for who I am


Too Bad for you I'm a damn good Sniper

 

[Befuddled_Stoner]

Isn’t it the reasoning behind “Don’t ask, don’t tell” that soldiers wouldn’t be able to form the camaraderie necessary to perform their jobs if they knew someone was gay? Anyone with military experience think there is merit to this idea?

I guess I can understand how a moment’s hesitation could mean disaster; it’s easy to see how thinking that one of your brothers is harboring unwanted sexual feelings towards you could cause that hesitation.

It isn’t very fair, but from the limited info I’ve got, it looks like “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is the best compromise between the huge numbers in the mainstream who feel queasy about homosexuals, and the much smaller numbers of homosexuals’ who act on the desire to fight for their country.

 

[Monkey Mind]

Tough one to vote on. I picked an unqualified "Yes", but I can understand how some might be uncomfortable sharing barracks, showers, etc. with people of a different sexual orientation. Personally I wouldn't have any problem with it, but I think a lot of people might. What if that really did affect morale, or lowered the enlistment rate? From a civil rights perspective I don't think the current policy is fair, but I also respect the need for the military to set its own rules. Considering that gays still can't get married in Seattle, I would suggest working on everyday society first, then moving on to the military. The armed forces are very conservative, traditional institutions. It hardly seems reasonable to expect them to accept changes that mainstream society is still struggling with.

 

[superskippy]

I may not personally have a problam with Gay soldiers, but many soldiers do have a problam with it. The fact is for that rather large proportion of soldiers it does create a problam for them and it does make them uncomfortable and disrupts the process of making a unit a well oiled machine like it should be.

And the individually perceived rights always take back seat to the ability of the unit to stay at it's peak top performance.

The job of the military is not to be a giant accepting entity, it's job is to take a nations young men and woman and mold them into soldiers to function in the army. Anything that disrupts the ability of a military unit in anyway is always unneeded.

If you are gay and want to express your identity and what you support and cherish that is more than fine and I support it whole heartidly. But that is not what you join the military for. The military as it's prime goal is to make a unit of soldiers as effective at their duties as possible anything else as aforementioned goes to a far and aways secondary importance.

So I voted Yes, Dont ask Dont Tell. Gays should serve their country but their primary concern should not be whether they should or can express their own sexual identity.

 

[Stace]

I voted for "Yes - Don't ask, don't tell", simply because I know there are people out there that aren't comfortable with KNOWING that one of their fellow soldiers is gay. That being said, I personally had no problem whatsoever with it while I was in the Air Force....when I was living in the dorms before I got married, my next door neighbor was bisexual, and she had a girlfriend, lots of us knew about it and didn't care. Why should we have? A person's sexual orientation doesn't dictate how well they perform their job.....if they can do the job just as well as the rest of us, well, that's all that should really matter. We all know that there ARE gays in the military, so if you're not comfortable around gay people, maybe you shouldn't join. I wouldn't consider myself homophobic in the least, but I don't think I'm alone when I say that I'd rather just know up front if someone was gay, rather than having to listen to people sit around and speculate about it. But for some folks, ignorance is bliss I guess.

 

[nightmare]

A good friend who is gay served 4 years in Afghanistan, and was no less a competent solider due to his sexual orientation. I do not know whether his orientation was made known by him during his time of service, or how others felt. However, he risked his life to defend our country ... let him live the life he still has as he chooses.

 

[TheNextEra]

My point is this. I (As a male) was not allowed to shower with the females in the military or bunk with them, so why should a gay man be allowed to shower and bunk with other men?

Other than that, I would have to agree with everyone else that as far as competancy goes, there is no different whether someone is gay or straight. I know it is a petty thing, but if they solve that little issue, I see no problem with gays serving in the military.

If a gay man is in the foxhole with another gay man in a fire fight, the LAST thing on that gay man's mind would be "Hey, Jack has a sweet a.$$"

 

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

"You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight." --
Barry Goldwater


But I think that don't ask don't tell is the best policy.

 

[Spartacus FPV]

I dont think I would concern myself with the sexual orientation of a person who's job it is to save my ***. Besides, he might take a bullet for me if he thinks my *** is pretty sweet.

 

[talloulou]

I can't imagine it's very easy to recruit people these days so as far as I'm concerned anyone who wants to serve should be allowed to unless they have severe mental or physical disabilities. And no I don't think being homosexual qualifies as a mental disorder. Also I think "don't ask don't tell" is bullshite. WTF? How ridiculous can we really get? Sex and the military can always lead to problems just ask Private England. Since the military is already dealing with mixing men and women in service I think they can handle homosexuals without declaring they will only take those who are closeted.

 

[TheNextEra]

Sex and the military can always lead to problems just ask Private England.

THen by your logic, if there is a promiscuous person in the military they should be let go just as a gay person would.

 

[Dogger807]

For me Gay or straight is a non issue... I couldn't care less. It's my opinion that fundamentalists are more disruptive in the military than homosexuals. Look at the airforce academy bull.

 

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

THen by your logic, if there is a promiscuous person in the military they should be let go just as a gay person would.

Try actually reading the post next time he doesn't even like don't ask don't tell he thinks that openly gay people should be able to serve.

 

[talloulou]

THen by your logic, if there is a promiscuous person in the military they should be let go just as a gay person would.

:shock:
No point is war is war and if some people have sex in the meantime who gives a shite?

 

[talloulou]

Try actually reading the post next time he doesn't even like don't ask don't tell he thinks that openly gay people should be able to serve.

I'm a she and I'm telling you that straight up 'cause I don't support the don't ask don't tell crapola.

 

[TheNextEra]

Try actually reading the post next time he doesn't even like don't ask don't tell he thinks that openly gay people should be able to serve.

Try actually reading my response before putting your foot in your mouth with some sorta "gotcha" moment.

I made a point that if sex and the military was a problem to her, then promiscous people should be kicked out as well. Next time you feel like chiming in, be sure what I am stating first before you eat your foot.

 

[TheNextEra]

:shock:
No point is war is war and if some people have sex in the meantime who gives a shite?

Because not everyone in the military is stationed in a war. Many are still state side and that is a problem.

 

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

I'm a she and I'm telling you that straight up 'cause I don't support the don't ask don't tell crapola.

My apologies .... sir. :mrgreen:

 

[talloulou]

Try actually reading my response before putting your foot in your mouth with some sorta "gotcha" moment.

I made a point that if sex and the military was a problem to her, then promiscous people should be kicked out as well. Next time you feel like chiming in, be sure what I am stating first before you eat your foot.

Sex of any kind anywhere isn't a problem. Especially in war times I think I'd need some. But all that aside the point is we are already mixing ***** and dick so homosexual/bisexual ect who gives a shite? Since we are already mixing it up..how is any of it a big deal?

 

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

Try actually reading my response before putting your foot in your mouth with some sorta "gotcha" moment.

I made a point that if sex and the military was a problem to her, then promiscous people should be kicked out as well. Next time you feel like chiming in, be sure what I am stating first before you eat your foot.

Ya but she didn't say gay people should be kicked out though did she?

 

[TheNextEra]

Since we are already mixing it up..how is any of it a big deal?

Because we are not "mixing it up" in the living situation (i.e. bunking, showering, etc.).

That is the problem. Putting a gay man with a straight male would be the equivalent of putting a straight male and a straight female in the same showering and bunking situation. There doesn't have to be ANY sexual attraction to create a hostile atmosphere in that situation.

If the military solves that issue, than I have no problem with gays in the military as they perform no different in their duties as straight men.

 

[jamesrage]

OK...so I decide I want to risk my life for the country I love....but wait, Boot me out because your an idiot who thinks God has it in for me.....

Fine...I'll just join up on the side that accepts me for who I am


Too Bad for you I'm a damn good Sniper

Your not that damn good.

http://www.washtimes.com/world/20060115-111618-6393r.htm