I'm a conservative -- but unlike many of my fellow conservatives, i fiercely object to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy of the US military. I've always found it a bit absurd that we reject the talents of those more than capable of serving our country on the basis of their sexual orientation. That attitude has only been confirmed in my mind by the growing acceptance of homosexuals in society as a whole.
So one would think that I would be turning handstands over this announcement.
President Barack Obama pledged to end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military in a speech Saturday, but acknowledged to a cheering crowd that the policy changes he promised on the campaign trail are not coming as quickly as they expected."I will end 'don't ask-don't tell,'" Obama said at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group.
Why no excitement? Because he gives no timetble, only a vague commitment. And he made the same commitment during the campaign, only to sit on his hands for the first nine months he's been in office, despite the fact that most Americans would support him on this one.
In other words, it really isn't a priority to Barack Obama -- any more than winning in Afghanistan or promoting human rights in China are priorities for him.
Wake me when Obama actually tries to carry through on this promise -- if he ever gets around to it.
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It's too soon to ask when in the first place. I think we should all take a step back and be thankful that he is actually acknowledging a very important topic into a debate in the midst of so many other complications with our society. Asking when is a childish statement that proves our impatience has already taken a hold on us. "If he ever gets around to it?" He's hasn't been in office long enough to criticize inactivity. All people deserve happiness and all people should understand a minimal level of patience.
-A
|| Posted by Andrew Newman, October 11, 2009 12:53 AM ||He has to go through Congress to get the law changed. There's more involved here than just an Executive Order or DOD Regulation.
And Harry Reid will get to it sometime, eventually.
|| Posted by Fox2!, October 11, 2009 01:43 AM ||A president's term in office is 48 months long. He is already at month 9 -- 20% of the way through his term. So when, Andrew, is it enough time to expect some activity and some accomplishments? He certainly won't try anything too controversial in the run-up to the 2010 congressional elections -- and it won't be long into 2011 before he gears up his reelection campaigh, making it difficult for him to try for anything controversial (especially if his majority in Congress shrinks). So if not now, then when? Or is it precisely what Vic suggests?
|| Posted by Rhymes With Right, October 11, 2009 07:39 AM ||Has anyone given any thought to how we house them? We separate military male and female living quarters because men and women find each other sexually attractive. What young straight male could shower with young women and control himself? Do we put all men together (as we do now) even though some of them find the others sexually attractive? Is anybody going to address this problem before the first deaths occur? And they will. Hatred of gays will not disappear just because the government says it should.
|| Posted by jim, October 11, 2009 07:56 AM ||Jim, if you're really interested in some solutions to the problem you outlined, then I would suggest you look at how the Israel Defense Force handles it (since they've allowed gays to serve openly since '93) or Great Britain (who have allowed the same since 2000) for that matter.
Let me sum it up - if a Gay or Lesbian soldier acts professionally, then there's no issue. If a straight solder claims sexual assault then the investigation would proceed as it does now, but with one important caveat - presuming the gay/lesbian solder is acquitted, then they can continue serving with no harm, and the accusing soldier would then be rotated to another unit.
|| Posted by ET, October 11, 2009 09:25 AM ||Let none of us forget Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible. Obama should not be testing God like this, by allowing our nation to think just because Obama says so, it's okay. Remember, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah -- better that we pray that gays and homosexuals learn to live according to God's will, and not their own. Oh yes, hetrosexuals can and do sin continuously, and that is just as wrong in the eyes of God.
|| Posted by mary, October 11, 2009 09:30 AM ||What the world and the United States of American needs now, is more prayer, not a president who is compromising his very soul, because the stain of sin will be greater on his soul because he is encouraging something against God's will by saying that he 'The President of the United States' says it's okay. It's not okay folks. The United States pales in size to all of God's creation, Obama, although he may want to be God, is not God, and he has not business leading souls astray.
Yes, yes, Mary we've heard it all before - though it's sad that you link blatant discrimination against gays to your religion. Yet, any student of history knows that we've heard it all before... Christian 'leaders' were denouncing the 19th Amendment as affronts to God's will in 1920 - you know, the one giving women the right to VOTE? That's just one example.
Anyway, your straw-man argument has no bearing on the discussion here, especially in light of your religion's history of 'tolerance'. *rolls eyes*
It is simple - we are in 2 wars, with our military stretched to the point that they're allowing criminals to enlist (google "Moral Waivers" if you REALLY wanna get pissed off at this moronic policy) and yet shunting homosexual soldiers out the door simply because of their orientation - Lt. Daniel Choi, Lt. Colonel Victor Federach are just two examples of highly trained, highly skilled men who are desperately needed in our military!
|| Posted by ET, October 11, 2009 10:00 AM ||Mary, I am a Christian -- but I see your position as wrong. Your argument leads to the sort of barbarism practiced in places like Iran and Saudi Arabia, where homosexuals are executed due to God's law. So while I reject the swipe at Christianity taken by ET, I have to agree with the point of his final paragraph.
And Jim, might I suggest to you that we deal with the issue of gay man and women in showers and barracks the same way we deal with them in locker rooms and dorm rooms in the rest of the world -- recognize that most gay people are not sexual predators and that those who believe that they are predators are the folks with the real problem -- and that those who expect homosexuals to be lusting after them all the time simply need to get over themselves because they aren't all that! As for those who truly hate gays -- let the military deal with them the same way it dealt with those whose hatred of blacks was so pathological that they could not serve with them as equal back when harry Truman desegregated the armed forces sixty years ago.
|| Posted by Rhymes With Right, October 11, 2009 10:58 AM ||To Rhymes With Right, Thank you, You Spoke your point quite well and without harsh words towards other views. I wish more people thought with understanding rather than religious hatred.
Now, on to Mary, You might want to read the bible and actually study it. There are a list of things that 'Christians' accept as a part of life that were punishable by death in Leviticus, where it also talks about us 'gays'. A non virgin on her wedding night should be stoned by her family, a disobedient child should be stoned. I'm sorry but I don't see that happening in the Christian community, cause if it were happening, it would surely be called murder, but it's according to God's law. Or how about divorce? This is only a few examples from one book...
So Mary, think about how you ridicule one sin and not another since the some Christians seem to overlook their own. And for the record, it is not a sin to fall in love with someone. I don't choose to be gay, that's just how it is. I don't see it as God thinks I'm a sinner cause I love a guy as you would your husband.
|| Posted by Jaron, October 11, 2009 01:02 PM ||Post a comment