Comments on: That’s So Gay: Don’t ask, don’t tell

By: Todd

Todd — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:55:41 +0000

“In a world where it is no longer socially acceptable to be closeted”

There are ‘islands of’ where this may be the case but it is not the norm just yet.

By: Todd

Todd — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:53:57 +0000

The armed forces policy in regard to homosexuality is that it is not to be engaged in or admitted to while on or off base, on or off duty, in private or public life.

A lot of people think that a gay person can serve in the military if they keep their sexual orientation private but that just is not the case. Engaging in homosexual acts or admissions in private is just as much a violation of the armed forces policy in regard to homosexuality as doing it openly or in public.

It’s also against policy to be married to or attempt to marry someone of the same sex.

By: Rich

Rich — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:44:44 +0000

Rep. Frank isn’t even on the House Armed Services Committee. Until Rep. Ike Skelton says that DADT repeal will be in the defense authorization bill, don’t count on it. Rep. Frank has no control over the military appropriation process in the House. Rep. Frank would like for the LGBT community to believe he has a solution in the works so that they don’t stop donating to his campaign, or the Democratic National Committee. The defense authorization bill comes up for a vote every October — don’t count on any DADT legislation going before Congress a month prior to the elections. It is not likely to happen that way at all.

By: Jarrod

Jarrod — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:39:10 +0000

Latest news from congress – Barney Frank by the way – DADT repeal will be attached to the 2011 defense budget so it will pass. Plans by the White House are to do just that and the repeal will be signed by Pres. Obama by fall 2010.

By: Rich

Rich — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:51:15 +0000

I wouldn’t wager on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell disappearing anytime soon. Neither the President or Congress has shown any sense of urgency in getting this law repealed, and their appetite to deal with the issue will likely diminish in every day that approaches the 2010 mid-term elections. A referendum on the economy will likely cause Democratic majorities to disappear in those same elections — ending any possibility to get legislation passed in the near future.

Within the gay community, there is weak lobbying support for this issue since it doesn’t have any direct impact on the lives of most gay and lesbian activists. The all-consuming drive to achieve marriage equality gets all the attention and resources. Meahwhile, as your article cleary points out, gays in the military fall further behind the norms of society. In a world where it is no longer socially acceptable to be closeted, military gays and lesbians find themselves in the uncomfortable position where they are not all that welcome in the gay world that has left the the closet behind or in a military that doesn’t want them to serve openly.