Posted on 09/20/2011 1:41:43 PM PDT by lbryce
President Barack Obama on Tuesday hailed the end of the policy banning gays from serving openly in the armed forces, as the Pentagon vowed "zero tolerance" for harassment of homosexuals in the military.
"Today, the discriminatory law known as 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is finally and formally repealed," Obama said in a statement. "As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love."
The repeal went into effect on Tuesday, ushering in a new era in the armed forces. The law had allowed gay men and women to serve in the military only if they kept their sexual orientation a secret. They faced the threat of being kicked out of the military if they were open about their homosexuality.
Obama last December signed legislation to repeal the policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which had been passed by Congress and signed into law in 1993 under then-President Bill Clinton.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made it clear that the military would not tolerate mistreatment of gays in the ranks.
"This is an historic day for the Pentagon and for the nation," he said. "We have a zero tolerance with regards to harassment," Panetta told a Pentagon briefing.
Under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, more than 14,500 service members were thrown out of the military since it went into effect in 1993, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. (See graphic r.reuters.com/vaj83s)
Gay rights groups for years denounced the law and called its end a important milestone in the fight against anti-homosexual discrimination. Some have compared its demise to the integration of the armed forces.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
I think O’Bozo is smart like a fox...
He and his agenda buddies are just ticking things like this off the list...
They know it can never be reversed, like O’Bozo-care, and the pooch has been screwed...as have we all.
They won’t see any problems. It will all be covered up. Just peruse the reports I linked and make sure everyone know about what is currently happening. Sexual assaults for both males and females have risen in the military even though the number of GIs serving has shrunk. They claim its because of better reporting but I say BS on that.
“Gay marriage wrecked my loving partnership with the perfect girl.”
May I ask in what way?
IMO, there will now be fewer gays in the military, whether or not we hear about it, and the taxpayers are going to have to fund “creative” recruiting to bring in more.
Will the ultra left wing college campuses now begin to allow recruiting?
“the list is endless and this had better be overturned.”
Yes. The big problem I have with this is that people with a stated sexual attraction will now be sharing quarters, showers and bathrooms. One “fair” thing to do would be to start allowing co-ed habitation for straight folks. All the straight men and women can bunk, shower, and excrete together, and the gays can be segregated similarly. Of course, this would never work in the military as we know it, either.
That leaves us with the “expensive” option - separate facilities for: straight men, straight women, gay men, gay women - and possibly some arrangement for neuters and transgenders of the various types. Possible, but expensive and you still have the problem of the two gay groups (men/women) living, working and fighting with possible/probable sexual partners. What exactly will go on when the lights go off? The mind boggles. Again, it’s not at all “fair” to the straight folks.
It’s a travesty, and clearly “a bridge too far”.
good luck pal.
I will become the last family member to serve now after many generations unless this gets changed.
This admin went right into this as a gesture to the homosexual agenda and with no thought for those serving especially those in combat units.
The military on the whole has become too PC and that needs to stop as well.
The U.S. military is underfunded, overburdened, falling behind in cyberwar capabilities, is bound up with untenable ROEs in Afghanistan...
And THIS is the “major accomplishment.”
My God... I miss America...
Unfortunately, the typical dumbassed American with no concept of the military doesn't make that distinction.
The rules absolutely DO apply. The fact that they don’t FOLLOW the rules doesn’t excuse them from being accountable to said rules.
Of course, I don’t for a second think you were implying they get a pass. I believe I know what you meant. I just wanted to clarify for anyone else who doesn’t... quite... get it.
Maybe but especially in bad economic times, military service is attractive and now that gays can be “open”, it may make it more sensible for them to “serve”...
but as stated a lot on FR, this is NOT the end...
the agenda is full recognition of benefits, access to military facilities...everything a “spouse” enjoys...and, thanks to the generals and admirals who let this happen, they have every right to them.
Remember, O’bozo and his admin will NOT enforced the DOMA...
The door is WIDE open...
Thank you for saying it WAY better than I did. :)
I should have put a /sarc at the end. LOL!
We are going to find out about that over the next few years. Air Power alone would never work. It has won two, albeit small, wars to date. Things change. With homosexualization of the military they have to change and will because war cannot be successfully homosexualized in Euro-American culture. And I did not say that the battlefield troops will disappear though those with knee jerk reactions to individual words and phrases will react that way. On the ground will be very small highly specialized and trained units in which there will be no or a tiny minimum of homosexuals because homosexuals will not be able to get through the training and there will be various forms of what are essentially mercenaries.
DADT was a mistake. It just provided the foundation for what has just occurred. Once you allowed gays to be in the military covertly, it was just a matter of time before it would be allowed overtly. Next comes the rights and benefits of gay unions/marriage to match those now provided to married couples--a man and a woman.
I’m still sickened beyond belief. WHere are the freaking Rs? WHy are they silent? Are they all on board with this disgusting evil? Or just chickens***?
The next president must repeal this and go back to “ask, tell, out the door if answer is wrong”.
The only candidate I trust even a little bit is Palin and she hasn’t announced. Romney I could puke on, Perry isn’t much better, just another slickster politician AFAIAC.
when he said states rights then to me it is a cop out.
The homosexual agenda is not just up to states , we have the federal level, military don’t ask which most certainly needs to go back to how it used to be.
Now we have lawsuits from homo’s, we have them saying they can go back, some are asking for years of back pay.
The whole thing was rushed through while ignoring many Generals and the Generals which said OK to this were looking for a promotion or a nice posting .
Now if anyone says a General would not do such a thing then I only have to point to the General who changed his statements regarding a certain company which is close to zero
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