More than 1,000 retired military officers, including several who were top commanders, are urging President Obama and Congress to maintain the law that bars gays from serving openly in the armed forces.
Obama is consulting with the Pentagon on the issue and says he supports eventual repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which prohibits gays in the military from being open about their sexual orientation. A bill that would allow gays to serve openly has been introduced in Congress.
[For the full article, see here.]
The key word Obama uses is "eventual!" Most people know that DADT will eventually be repealed, and to cover his bases Obama says he supports the inevitable. However, his "support" would best be shown if he showed the principle and courage of President Truman who mandated integration in the military in 1947!
As Commander-in-Chief, Obama could mandate equal rights in the military by not waiting for Congress to hash it out! However, he is at best equivocal regarding equal rights for Gay people, as seen in his being against same-sex marriage, and in his alignment with Donnie McClurkin and Mary Mary during his campaign.
Donnie McClurkin is a gospel singer, "who has detailed his struggle with gay tendencies and vowed to battle 'the curse of homosexuality'." [See here.]
Erica, of the gospel duo Mary Mary said the following: "Um... how do I feel about homosexuality? I feel how God feels about it, um… but I still love them. You know what I mean? I don't agree with the lifestyle, but I love them. They can come to the concert; I'm going to hug them just like I hug everybody else. They have issues and need somebody to encourage them like everybody else - just like the murderer, just like the one full of pride, just like the prostitute, everybody needs God."
Obama has a chance to make good on a lot of his rhetoric concerning equality for Gay people by taking the lead in repealing DADT, and so far he has disappointed those who had faith that he would do so.
2 comments:
Something I don't understand. How do they know it won't work when we've never tried it before. Other countries military forces have accepted gays and lesbians into their ranks and they are still battle ready.
David
Hi David: That's a great question! The fact is that your very question shows that empirical knowledge or other countries' positive experiences with having Gay people serve openly in the military has no impact on the prejudiced people who view Gay people as an impediment to "unit cohesion," or whatever other red herrings and lies they seek to foist on us.
I have no doubt that DADT will eventually be repealed, just as I have no doubt that same-sex marriage will exist in every state of the U.S. The tragedy is that even a self-styled "progressive" like Obama doesn't have the principle and the guts to lead the charge in seeing to it that equal rights exist in the military, and in every aspect of our society. Best wishes, Jerry.
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