U.S. Military Ends ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Policy for Gay Troops

On September 20th, the military policy of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' ended, allowing gay or lesbian troops to openly serve in the military. Public support for the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is shown as 77 percent of Americans approved of the repeal when Congress approved the change in December of last year according to a Washington Post-ABC News survey. However not everyone is happy of the change. One of these critics is the Washington-based Family Research Council's President, Tony Perkins, who said "Using the military to advance a liberal social agenda will only do harm to the military’s ability to fulfill its mission," in a written statement. That however has not stopped the Service members Legal Defense Network to hold 100 rallies celebrating the end of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' all over the country. With 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repealed many of the troops that were discharged for being gay can now reenlist in the military. Preparing the change in months, the Pentagon has trained 2.3 million service members of what the repeal will mean for daily life. With the ending of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell', many more gay troops are now encouraged to not hide their sexual orientation. One notably is the confession of an US Airman, who confesses to his father that he is gay in which the father responds that he loves him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVAgz6iyK6A&feature=related

New study disproves "don't ask, don't tell"

In Obama's State of the Union, he rejected "don't ask, don't tell" policy of the military, and called for it to be repealed immediately. Many military leaders and others have already expressed hesitation at the idea, and the stated views of Pentagon leaders is that repealing the ban would take a year or more and be a disruption to the entire armed forces.

However, a comprehensive study that updates existing studies on openly gay service members in Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa and other countries, holds the belief that gay soldiers do not cause a disruption. The study, “Gays in Foreign Militaries 2010: A Global Primer,” was conducted by the Palm Center of UC Santa Barbara.

The report found that there were no increased instances of harassment, none of the countries had to install separate facilities, and that transition was speedy and uneventful.

However, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, a potential Republican candidate for president in 2012, said that he continued to support “don’t ask, don’t tell” because “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Um, ignorance much?