Don't Ask Don't Tell

For my first post I'll discuss my views of repealing DADT because it is the hot topic in the media today. I believe in equal rights for all, and I do not think it is fair for gay and lesbian service men and women to be discharged because of their sexual orientation. In any other business in America it would be discrimination to fire someone for their sexual orientation. At this present time the focus of American news is whether or not to repeal the current policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell with our military. It has passed the House but has not been passed by the Senate.

From what I understand Senator John McCain is facing opposition from all sides on his opinion of keeping DADT, at least for now. I respect and value his opinion because of his hands on experience serving in our military; however, if there is significant proof that a repeal of DADT would be widely accepted throughout all branches of the United States Military then I am all for it. As far as I understand, there have been studies that polled men and women in the service and a majority said the repeal would not affect them significantly. In my opinion, the major leaders of each branch appear to have mixed opinions whether the military is ready for such a change, especially during a time of war.

The question I have regarding the studies of DADT is whether this question has been asked of the servicemen and women, "If the DADT policy were to remain in place would that be okay with you?" or something along those lines. I ask this because I have not been convinced that a repeal is what the large majority of those fighting for our country really want. I heard there were about 60% were indifferent to the repeal. I admit that is a majority, but I am curious if the same soldiers were polled on the question I posed, what the results would be.

I was able to locate a voice recording, and text of the briefing of DADT by the Department of Defense here and here. They said that the overall military were willing to repeal the policy; although, in the high combat groups there was much more opposition. Nearly 40-60% of the troops who face physical battle the most, were not comfortable with the repeal; yet the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, has urged Congress to pass the repeal, and as soon as possible.

The real problem I see is that our government is not willing to release the questions asked, nor the results of the survey. How are we supposed to form an unbiased opinion when we don't have any thing to base it on? I believe whatever the majority of our military members think would be best is what our government should do regarding DADT, including those who face physical battle on a daily basis. Their opinion, to me, should hold the most weight on deciding this issue; however, I would like to know what questions were included on the survey to form my own opinion on this policy.