Ave Gloria Dei

Should the U.S. military do away with the "don't ask, don't tell" policy and allow homosexuals to serve openly in our forces?

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quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? quam diu etiam furor iste tuus nos eludet? quem ad finem sese effrenata iactabit audacia? nihilne te nocturnum praesidium Palati, nihil urbis vigiliae, nihil timor populi, nihil concursus bonorum omnium, nihil hic munitissimus habendi senatus locus, nihil horum ora voltusque moverunt?
-Cicero

Hio

I honestly dont know what the big deal is. Do you think in the battlefield that when you are getting shot at or explosions are happening all around you, you are thinking "I hope this guy next to me isnt gay"? NO! So what the fuck is the big deal with homosexuals in the force?

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What Profit Is It To A Man...If He Gains The World But Loses His Own Soul {Matthew 16:26}

Ave Gloria Dei

Nor do I. Many of the people lost are expensive to train and the armed forces sacrifice a great deal of skill and power by removing gay soldiers from their positions.

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quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? quam diu etiam furor iste tuus nos eludet? quem ad finem sese effrenata iactabit audacia? nihilne te nocturnum praesidium Palati, nihil urbis vigiliae, nihil timor populi, nihil concursus bonorum omnium, nihil hic munitissimus habendi senatus locus, nihil horum ora voltusque moverunt?
-Cicero

mikelew007

Exactly.

If it were me in the trenches, my first, second, and last thoughts will be "Ok, how am I going to take out the enemy, how do I not get shot?" not "Hmmm, is this guy next to me gay?" Wouldn't even be in the back of my mind.

As Barry Goldwater, who was a Major General in the U.S. Air Force during WWII once said, "You don't need to be 'straight' to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight."

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hevusa

I like the line that Clinton said during the debate. I forget who she quoted...

"You don't have to be straight to shoot straight".

That pretty much says it all.

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"There is no such thing as laziness. Laziness is only lack of incentive." Norman Reider, MD

Morality is not contingent on religion to exist. Therefore religion only detracts from the purity of morality.

Antithesis

The excuse people give is that they want to prevent prejudice, but then if that's the case they shouldn't let in any other minority. The fact of the matter is it's not based on any good reason. It's just homophobia, little else.

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"Every time I hear the phrase 'Christian nation' I run to my car and blast a Slayer album at full volume." - Me

pensacola_niceman

Absolutely not! The soldiers would be sitting ducks for the enemy in pink uniforms.

Hio

Exactly, its HOMOPHOBIA! If you got discharged from the military it was because you fucked up badly(dis-honorable) or you were so wounded in battle that you can not fight anymore where then the military would discharge you too(Honorable). Now its "OMG you are gay get away from us!"
What happened to our military?

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What Profit Is It To A Man...If He Gains The World But Loses His Own Soul {Matthew 16:26}

sgtdmski

Combat is one thing. However, allowing openly homosexual individuals in the military is not always in the best interest of the soldier serving. Don't get me wrong, I believe, and I know that there have been homosexuals who have served in the military and in combat and they performed remarkable and admirably.

However, part of the fear that exists in the military among its members includes fear of blood transfusions. The military maintains a walking blood supply thanks to blood typing performed on all new soldiers and that type being listed on the dog tags. During a true mass casualty situation, the normal precautions that are taken before giving a transfusion are no longer in effect. Blood would be collected, retyped and prepared in to blood products to be issued as needed. The blood would not be tested for HIV or Hepatitis.

No I understand a heterosexual can have HIV, however, the incidence of HIV among heterosexual men is only 3%. Consider the fact that two-thirds of all HIV cases come from homosexual men, I would say that the individuals serving have a cause to be alarmed.

The Don't Ask Don't Tell policy allows those who are gay to serve as long as they do not openly act homosexual, is it the best policy, probably not, yet it remains one that the soldiers can accept for they do not have fear of this individuals partaking in the high risk behavior that makes so many other homosexuals at risk for HIV infection.

dmk

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Conservatism, I repeat is not an ideology. It does not breed fanatics....But if you want men who seek, reasonably and prudently, to reconcile the best in wisdom of our ancestors with the change which is essential to a vigorous civil social existence, then you will do well to turn to conservative principles
-Russell Kirk-

tristanrobin

that is not an accurate statistic comparison.

5% of gay men have HIV and/or AIDS.
Which means that 95% do NOT have it.

However, you can't compare the number of heterosexual men who have the disease - and then compare it to the statistic of the number of HIV patients who are homosexual.
You would have to compare the statistic of either the total number of population in both communties who have the virus - or the percentage of the disease totals in each community - but not compare the two statistics. You pulled the statistic version of all poodles are dogs but not all dogs are poodles.

edited to add: oh - and half of all AIDS cases are gay men - which is shocking enough. It's not two-thirds.

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"know this is EXACTLY why people think you shouldnt have equal rights" 2/11/08 Grace