Posted on 06/26/2007 7:15:17 AM PDT by Gopher Broke
Lift the Ban!
Only one law in the United States mandates firing someone because of her or his sexual orientation. That law is 10 U.S.C. 654, also known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and it applies to all personnel serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, including active duty, Reserve, and National Guard personnel. All service members deserve respect, regardless of sexual orientation. Under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, more than 11,000 members of the U.S. Armed Forces have been discharged, including those with valuable linguistic skills. The policy undermines the dignity, privacy, and integrity of service members by requiring them to hide or lie about their sexual orientation.
Action Needed:
The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1246), originally introduced by Representative Marty Meehan (D-Mass.), now has over 100 co-sponsors in the House! We need you to urge your representative in Congress to support this bill that aims to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and replace it with a policy of nondiscrimination. One's right to serve in the Armed Forces should be based solely on ability and willingness.
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is a clear cut case of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Since 1993, NOW has strongly opposed any compromise that denies anyone the right to equal treatment within the military. The new leadership in Congress appears willing to work to end this discrimination, so NOW and our coalition partners are working to "Lift the ban"!
Contact your representative NOW - encourage her/him to support the Military Readiness Enhancement Act!
Background:
The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1246) proposes to "enhance the readiness of the Armed Forces by repealing the current policy, initiated in the early days of the Clinton Administration, concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces. 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' will be replaced with a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."
Under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (known as Title 10 of the United States Code), a member of the armed forces is forced to leave the military if that person:
has engaged in or attempted to engage in a "homosexual act,"
has stated (anywhere, at any time, to anyone) that he or she is homosexual or bisexual
has married or attempted to marry a person of the same sex
The new proposal, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, would establish a policy in the armed forces of nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation, whether real or perceived. In addition, the act stipulates that a servicemember discharged from the military under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," cannot be prohibited from re-entry on the sole basis of that discharge.
Act NOW - Send a message to your representative! Our system will select an appropriate message based on whether she/he is already a co-sponsor.
What’s an “Open Homosexual”?
On second thoughts, I’d rather not know...
“You are gonna perpetually walk point, boy, because I don’t want you behind me.” /Gunny Hartmann
Well, as an open heterosexual, I’m simply shocked!
Or, as my old pal, Chester A. Riley used to exclaim,”what a revolting development this is!”
I can see them now, daisy chaining into battle......like a conga line....
...there is something wrong with this country.
here is text of the Law:
TITLE 10 > Subtitle A > PART II > CHAPTER 37 > § 654
§ 654. Policy concerning homosexuality in the armed forces
(a) Findings.— Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Section 8 of article I of the Constitution of the United States commits exclusively to the Congress the powers to raise and support armies, provide and maintain a Navy, and make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces.
(2) There is no constitutional right to serve in the armed forces.
(3) Pursuant to the powers conferred by section 8 of article I of the Constitution of the United States, it lies within the discretion of the Congress to establish qualifications for and conditions of service in the armed forces.
(4) The primary purpose of the armed forces is to prepare for and to prevail in combat should the need arise.
(5) The conduct of military operations requires members of the armed forces to make extraordinary sacrifices, including the ultimate sacrifice, in order to provide for the common defense.
(6) Success in combat requires military units that are characterized by high morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion.
(7) One of the most critical elements in combat capability is unit cohesion, that is, the bonds of trust among individual service members that make the combat effectiveness of a military unit greater than the sum of the combat effectiveness of the individual unit members.
(8) Military life is fundamentally different from civilian life in that—
(A) the extraordinary responsibilities of the armed forces, the unique conditions of military service, and the critical role of unit cohesion, require that the military community, while subject to civilian control, exist as a specialized society; and
(B) the military society is characterized by its own laws, rules, customs, and traditions, including numerous restrictions on personal behavior, that would not be acceptable in civilian society.
(9) The standards of conduct for members of the armed forces regulate a member’s life for 24 hours each day beginning at the moment the member enters military status and not ending until that person is discharged or otherwise separated from the armed forces.
(10) Those standards of conduct, including the Uniform Code of Military Justice, apply to a member of the armed forces at all times that the member has a military status, whether the member is on base or off base, and whether the member is on duty or off duty.
(11) The pervasive application of the standards of conduct is necessary because members of the armed forces must be ready at all times for worldwide deployment to a combat environment.
(12) The worldwide deployment of United States military forces, the international responsibilities of the United States, and the potential for involvement of the armed forces in actual combat routinely make it necessary for members of the armed forces involuntarily to accept living conditions and working conditions that are often spartan, primitive, and characterized by forced intimacy with little or no privacy.
(13) The prohibition against homosexual conduct is a longstanding element of military law that continues to be necessary in the unique circumstances of military service.
(14) The armed forces must maintain personnel policies that exclude persons whose presence in the armed forces would create an unacceptable risk to the armed forces’ high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.
(15) The presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.
(b) Policy.— A member of the armed forces shall be separated from the armed forces under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense if one or more of the following findings is made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in such regulations:
(1) That the member has engaged in, attempted to engage in, or solicited another to engage in a homosexual act or acts unless there are further findings, made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in such regulations, that the member has demonstrated that—
(A) such conduct is a departure from the member’s usual and customary behavior;
(B) such conduct, under all the circumstances, is unlikely to recur;
(C) such conduct was not accomplished by use of force, coercion, or intimidation;
(D) under the particular circumstances of the case, the member’s continued presence in the armed forces is consistent with the interests of the armed forces in proper discipline, good order, and morale; and
(E) the member does not have a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts.
(2) That the member has stated that he or she is a homosexual or bisexual, or words to that effect, unless there is a further finding, made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in the regulations, that the member has demonstrated that he or she is not a person who engages in, attempts to engage in, has a propensity to engage in, or intends to engage in homosexual acts.
(3) That the member has married or attempted to marry a person known to be of the same biological sex.
(c) Entry Standards and Documents.—
(1) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the standards for enlistment and appointment of members of the armed forces reflect the policies set forth in subsection (b).
(2) The documents used to effectuate the enlistment or appointment of a person as a member of the armed forces shall set forth the provisions of subsection (b).
(d) Required Briefings.— The briefings that members of the armed forces receive upon entry into the armed forces and periodically thereafter under section 937 of this title (article 137 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice) shall include a detailed explanation of the applicable laws and regulations governing sexual conduct by members of the armed forces, including the policies prescribed under subsection (b).
(e) Rule of Construction.— Nothing in subsection (b) shall be construed to require that a member of the armed forces be processed for separation from the armed forces when a determination is made in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense that—
(1) the member engaged in conduct or made statements for the purpose of avoiding or terminating military service; and
(2) separation of the member would not be in the best interest of the armed forces.
(f) Definitions.— In this section:
(1) The term “homosexual” means a person, regardless of sex, who engages in, attempts to engage in, has a propensity to engage in, or intends to engage in homosexual acts, and includes the terms “gay” and “lesbian”.
(2) The term “bisexual” means a person who engages in, attempts to engage in, has a propensity to engage in, or intends to engage in homosexual and heterosexual acts.
(3) The term “homosexual act” means—
(A) any bodily contact, actively undertaken or passively permitted, between members of the same sex for the purpose of satisfying sexual desires; and
(B) any bodily contact which a reasonable person would understand to demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in an act described in subparagraph (A).
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/search/display.html?terms=homosexual&url=/uscode/html/uscode10/usc_sec_10_00000654——000-.html
Is it part of the liberal playbook that euphemisms and outright lies are always part of their titles?
Gays are such a yawn...
Aboard ship, this will confuse the unrep detail when the storekeeper yells, “Pass the fruit!” He may get a skinny yeoman.
This thread is so gay.
Gays are sooooooo yesterday. What a yawn.
NOW? What do they have, about 100 members?
Check out your local park or the men’s room at Wally World sometime.
Put them in the mess corps and maybe we can solve the obesity problem.
That might undo some of the damage done to the human gene pool by killing off so many of the "fittest" men during the megadeath extravaganzas on the 20th century.
Probably less when you exclude those getting paid by the organization. This is a group that's outlived it's original cause - the "cause" that raked in the cash. Best to ignore them...
We should also change the military housing policies forcing both men and women soldiers to share showering facilities! What, those women might be uncomfortable with me checking them out in the showers? Why, pray tell, would they think that men would like to share showers with other men that might find them arrousing?
Idiot liberals.
Humor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRKs5HWTUsc
Online Presidential Debate 1.2 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
If nobody knows you are gay how does that undermine dignity and privacy?
Sexual behavior is not skin color it’s preference that is only known when it is expressed. It can be hidden at any point. Skin color can’t be hidden, it is known without action and is something that is permanent unlike homosexuality.
The military is not about self expression yet it is one of the most diverse employers in the United States bar none. Self expression is counter to the word UNIT. There is no SELF in UNIT.
While your UNIT is taking fire you are going to be busy making sure they know you are gay?
Don’t ask don’t tell is a reasonable expectation from an organization that really is telling you they don’t give a damn about your sexual orientation because service is not about self and expression.
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