DADT Survey Results: Showdown Starts Over Repeal of Military's Gay Ban

If a mandatory draft is ever put into effect, certain citizens seeking a deferment will be forced to serve if this policy is changed whether they want to or not.

For me i think the DADT is the best, i spent twenty years in the Army and had their been open gays in their i would of never stayed in i woud of got out and if you ask the troops i am sure most of them feels the same waywould you want to walk in the barracks aand see a picture of ones boy friend nude you have to keep them and thats ok but for heaven sake keep it to their self if it is reversed your going to end up with a gay Army cause no straight 8 would stay in with a groop of gays

Isn't it funny that the only countries that don't allow gays to serve openly in the military are fundamentalist islamic nations and the good old USA. The problem isn't gays, the problem is once again RELIGION !!!! Fundamentalist countries let their beliefs in myths cloud their decision making. As the rest of the world becomes more secularized they will advance, while the US and the Muslim Nations can fight their holy wars all the way back to the dark ages.

Let's be realists here. I don't think that most people have a problem with gays serving their country, but what it boils down to is (more or less) feeling sexually intimidated in any way. By housing gay men with straight men and gay women with straight women, is the same as if you threw all straight men and women in together, 100% co-ed. As a woman, I would not want to be forced into intimate situations (showering as a group, bunking together, etc.) with a lesbian anymore than I would with a man who *may* be sexually attracted to me. It would be grossly uncomfortable to be at your most vulnerable as someone ogles you, especially when the attraction isn't mutual. In many instances, the luxury of privacy just isn't an option. During war, on the frontlines, soldiers *have* to be 100% focused. Women aren't permitted to be on the frontlines because it would cause too much distraction. Some are every bit as equipped to fight and carry/lift heavy items (machinery, wounded comrades, etc.) as their male counterparts, but there can't be any sexual distractions. The solution is to remove any from the equation before it can even start. So I think DADT needs to remain in place.

For civilians to determine this issue is no different than a room full of men deciding whether or not a woman must carry a pregnancy to term. These decisions should be left to those who are walking the walk. Get off the little stuff, and start addressing the issues that are affecting the growth and prosperity of America, and Her citizens.

How was the question put to get a answer they wanted. The judge that tried to force her own ideas on the military needs removed. Since the sixty judges have over stepped thier jobs. They are not here to make law. They are there to inforce the law as it is. Any judge that trys to inact thier own law should be taken down and judges should do as there job as discribed.

Just remarks: I am looking at this picture above. These soldiers are yelling or singing in front of the White House - they are soldiers? Isn't there military law, where an active soldier is not allowed to demonstrate - period. Has that law been lifted? It seems to me that a few of them need to be put on a diet - some look as they would be above their allowed weight limit.

To be in any Armed Force Service for the United States of America at the moment while DADT is still active is a disgrace. I am disgraced by the way our Commander in Chief has held up to his word. He hasn't as of yet. When Judge Phillips made her decision to call DADT unconstitutional, she was right. Yes I am a service member in the US Army. I am proud to be a Gay Service member. It has been in my opinion that not all units will have issues with the fact that we (LGBT service members) stand up and show that yes we are ourselves always have been ourselves and we can do a job equal if not some superior to our straight brothers and sisters. But does it matter that we might be able to do a better job than our straight service members? No, it does not. What matters the most is we stick together and we fight together and we love together. Our country was founded on the freedom to express ourselves, freedom of religion, freedom to live basicly. So what has happened over the years of we no longer have the freedom that the constitution gave us(LGBT). I am looked down upon by many but they have no idea that as they look down on me I stand to fight. To ensure that my country that I have loved for so many years is kept free. I believe in my Army Values and yes because I must lie each day to hide who I am is not my fault its the constitutions fault for telling me I could be who I wanted to be no matter what its Freedom I am looking for. So as December 1st, 2010 starts to dawn on so many service members fighting a war on Terrorists,, Do you think they are wondering well is my buddy gay? No, he isn't he is wondering if I die today will my buddy tell my family how my last minutes were like, or to tell them my last dieing words. This is what we as Americans must look at before we say no repeal. We must repeal DADT now. I stand up to my country I WANT MY FREEDOM BACK AND YES I AM A PROUD GAY SOLDIER. I fight in Afghanistan for our freedom in America.

Very typically, the predominantly white, evangelo-fascist right wing of the republican/teabag party have shown themselves to be bigots; even cutting off their collective nose to spite their face, refusing to accept LGBT citizens to put themselves in harms way in the armed services of these United States. The rights' collective homophobia presumes that men and women, who have served with courage and honor under DADT, will suddenly abandon their oaths of service and embark in some orgiastic frenzy of approval. The premise is flawed from the outset by the militarys longstanding code of conduct regarding fraternization for sexual purposes between enlisted persons: presumably heterosexual, but applying to all. Beyond that there is nothing but irrational fear and rejection of a minority group, which stands in violation of the constitution and will be rescinded to the eternal embarrassment of persons standing on the wrong side of the law. The shame now is not in being a gay man or lesbian seeking to serve without being forced to live a lie, but in forcing these men and women to perpetrate this fraud that can find them discharged for that same required lie.

Over the past 40 years, our nation has become a more tolerant place and more free society where differences are mostly accepted and celebrated. Not to say that we are perfect; remember our charge as Americans is to always "seek a more perfect union." However, it is safe to say that in the past decade, society's attitudes have experienced a seismic shift -- especially in the area of gay and lesbian equality. Opposition to gays and lesbians serving in military service comes mostly from those who are no longer serving in the military or from those who have never served and those who served in the military in the 60's and 70's, such as Marine Commandant Amos, were living in an entirely different world than today. Unfortunately many “old school” generals like General Amos are still living within the confines of old military ideology and have yet to realize that most recruits entering military service today are more open and accepting of gays and lesbians. Resisting change is SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) in the military. These same “old timers” fought and screamed in opposition to racial integration. They resisted gender integration yelling it would effect unit cohesion, recruitment and retention. They were wrong then and they are wrong now. Once the order was implemented the professional men and women in our militaries snapped to attention and made it work. Today’s military men and women, more than half of them under the age of 25 have grown up in a different environment, one of increasing acceptance of gay and lesbians. Many high schools and colleges have gay and lesbian organizations, “coming out” has ceased to be a curiosity; and much of the remnants of homophobia have simply evaporated with the passage of time. National survey confirm these trends. The recently commissioned survey among actively serving troops and their family members indicates overwhelming support for allowing openly gays to serve openly alongside their straight counterparts. The survey results could be best summarized as: Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Care. That's right; the No. 1 response to the survey of our troops was that they don't care if someone openly gay serves in their unit and are comfortable with openly gay service members in their ranks. Let's face it, had President Truman surveyed the troops before he integrated the military, do you really think African-Americans would have been welcomed in the time of segregation and Jim Crow? Of course not! That the survey was done was egregious, but it apparently has now backfired. In combat, competence, bravery, and common sense tend to trump partisan politics. And in the midst of two lengthy wars, this lesson seems to have been adopted by the nation these warriors are trying to protect. Some 75% of the American people support openly gay troops, and with the majority of our servicemen and women comfortable with openly gay colleagues, what possible excuse could be left for Congress to maintain this outdated and bigoted policy? It is time for President Obama to adopt Truman's mantra, "The buck stops here," and show some leadership to assure that this policy is repealed by year's end. To the foes of gay and lesbian equality, our nation is saying to you, "Stifle it, Get over it." The country is ready for equality for gays and lesbians. Get on the train or get left behind the station, isolated in the narrow-minded and antiquated world of Archie Bunker