[Nemesis6]

About a few months, maybe half a year back, I sent a question specifically aimed at the president through the white house feedback page about the military's enforcement of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, mentioning specifically how it was absurd that the American army was discriminating against highly skilled individuals like intelligence analysts, linguists(Arabic, etc), based on sexual preference, when their recruitment standards have dropped so low that American street-gang related graffiti is appearing in hosting American soldiers overseas. Turns out, I received a message supposedly by the president.

Thank you for writing. We must stand united to protect
liberty and justice for all our citizens, and I appreciate your
perspective on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights.

My Administration has taken a number of steps to address
issues affecting the LGBT community. Leading by example, I
extended benefits to same-sex partners of Federal employees in the
Civil and Foreign Services. I also signed a Presidential Memorandum
directing hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds to give all
patients the compassion and security they deserve in their time of
need, including the ability to choose who can visit them and make
medical decisions. To help take on discrimination in all its forms, we
are working to ensure that core Federal housing programs are open to
all, and I signed landmark legislation that strengthens protections
against hate crimes based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
We also ended the ban on entry to the United States for people living
with HIV/AIDS, and we issued the first comprehensive National
HIV/AIDS Strategy.

While we have made great strides, much work remains to
achieve full equality for LGBT individuals. I stand by my
commitment to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and Pentagon leaders
are ensuring we can change this in a way that strengthens our Armed
Forces and national security. I have urged Congress to pass the
bipartisan Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act, and I
support extending the over 1,100 Federal marital rights and benefits to
same-sex couples. I support the Employment Non-Discrimination
Act, as well as legislative repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Adoption rights must also be secured for LGBT families, and we need
to ensure our children are free to learn in supportive environments in
school.

To learn more information about my Administration's efforts
to create a more open and tolerant society, please visit:
www.WhiteHouse.gov/Issues/Civil-Rights.

Sincerely,
Barack Obama

I've heard a lot of this stuff before, but I've also read about the Obama administration defending the Defense Of Marriage Act, in its defense comparing homosexuality with pedophilia and incest, arguing that we wouldn't consider pedophiles and practitioners of incest as "minorities" and give them the same rights as others. My brain is really full of ****, because I can't figure out where Obama actually stands on this issue. Officially, he should be the best friend of minorities, sexual or otherwise, but sometimes, his actions don't really match up. So what's going on here, is he a flip-flopper, a confused centrist, or have the lobbying group gotten to him already, despite his harsh rhetoric against them?

[redsniper]

He supports whatever issue you support, at least in his reply to you. Just like any politician.

[S-99]

The president didn't tell you jack **** about don't ask don't tell. He basically said, LGBT marriage adoption blablablablabla....working with armed forces, but now back to LGBT marriages and adoption.

Good news to hear, but this is a reach arou....err run around. Basically nothing was said about LGBT people in the armed forces with don't ask don't tell.

I stand by my commitment to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and Pentagon leaders
are ensuring we can change this in a way that strengthens our Armed
Forces and national security.

Is this suggesting by "changing" armed forces and the pentagon?

[Nuclear1]

Obama's the ****ing President--the Commander-in-Chief.  All he has to do is order the DoD to do away with the policy.  Gates and the majority of the JCS (Adm Mullen being the notable exception) are dragging their feet on repealing it based on some myth that openly gay servicemembers would be thinking about butt****ing the other guys in their unit during combat.

Which simply proves how badly Congress, the JCS, and the DoD as a whole is out of touch with the real military.  Either they're all rampantly homophobic, or they simply don't have faith in the soldiers sailors airmen and Marines out fighting to put aside their own personal prejudices when other people's lives are on the line.

Flying around over Afghanistan, oddly enough, I wasn't thinking about screwing the copilot or any of my fellow backenders.  Even back at base, I'm not thinking about that, and I'm strained to think of any member of my unit out there that was. 

[Qent]

Huh. I always thought that homosexuals were prohibited in the military, and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was the only provision allowing them in.

[Nuclear1]

They're allowed, they just have to keep quiet about it.

Not that it usually does...people figure out one way or another.  It's just that 99% of people serving with the gay servicemember don't care, and treat them just like any other.

[Sushi]

Pretty sure the dragging of feet is basically spending millions of taxpayer dollars to investigate the impact of repealing DADT, "just to be sure."

I'm also pretty sure that the ultimate conclusion will reflect the reality that most servicemen's feelings can be summed up in the words of Mrs. Patrick Campbell:

Does it really matter what these affectionate people do — so long as they don’t do it in the streets and frighten the horses!

[S-99]

It's a retarded issue. I myself don't care if there's gay soldiers. Reminds me of the questionnaire during mid summer that asked about comfort levels of soldiers being around gay soldiers. Then again the whole questionnaire was pointless and was rigged from the start.

I expect something like this to happen again.

On the other side of the coin, nemesis6 started up the advertisements.

[Nuke]

i see what they did there. if the so called "president" had to answer every question people passed his way, he wouldn't have much time for anything else. so what they do is sort through all the questions for him, slate them into a general category and then give a pre-made response from the president (or one of his speech writers) that fits each potential topic. you will only get a general response from that address. sure it will be picked out specifically for the general topic you are asking about. it certainly sounds like something politicians will do.

[NGTM-1R]

Obama's the ****ing President--the Commander-in-Chief.  All he has to do is order the DoD to do away with the policy.  Gates and the majority of the JCS (Adm Mullen being the notable exception) are dragging their feet on repealing it based on some myth that openly gay servicemembers would be thinking about butt****ing the other guys in their unit during combat.

Being Air Force, I suppose you don't really have a feel for the recruitment demographics we're talking about here.

The Army, and to a (much lesser) extent the Marines, are deeply Southern, deeply conservative organizations socially. They come from small towns and poor towns. Their commanders have serious doubts that, given their upbringing, they can get over pre-concieved prejudice.

Now, I have my doubts it will matter in the end, much like the Army became the first successfully racially integrated organization in the country. But surveys of servicemembers in the Army at least suggest there might be a real issue here and we don't have a WW2 handy to force pretty much the entire Army out of its prejudice at once. We ought to be repealing it on a service basis for the Navy and Air Force right now, sure, but at least a little further consideration is necessary for the Army. (I honestly don't know about the Marines, Proceedings has argued the issue both ways with different statistics in successive issues.)

[Nuclear1]

Being Air Force, and being trained around PJs, SSTs, CCTs, and SecFor, (in fact trained in basic training by a PJ) all groups of people who are mostly comprised of lower educational standards and the deep South, and being really good friends with several SEALs and Swicks, I beg to differ. 

Nobody's particular anti-gay when lives are at risk.  They train us too well to put personal prejudices first.  In combat or deployments, people are more than capable of putting it aside to get the mission done and protect each other.  Every single jarhead and groundpounder I've known agrees with me.

[General Battuta]

Obama's the ****ing President--the Commander-in-Chief.  All he has to do is order the DoD to do away with the policy.  Gates and the majority of the JCS (Adm Mullen being the notable exception) are dragging their feet on repealing it based on some myth that openly gay servicemembers would be thinking about butt****ing the other guys in their unit during combat.

Being Air Force, I suppose you don't really have a feel for the recruitment demographics we're talking about here.

The Army, and to a (much lesser) extent the Marines, are deeply Southern, deeply conservative organizations socially

From what I know the Air Force fits this description pretty well too.

[Nuclear1]

Almost more so actually.

The most liberal folks I've known have been Marines actually.  Air Force Academy graduates are virtually brainwashed conservatives.  Just here at Offutt, where the population involves some of the smartest and best-educated Airmen by a long shot, I can tell you the Air Force is just as conservative as any other branch.  Remember Admiral Mullen is the only member of the JCS that's anti-DADT...CSAF is entirely pro-DADT.

[Aardwolf]

in its defense comparing homosexuality with pedophilia and incest, arguing that we wouldn't consider pedophiles and practitioners of incest as "minorities" and give them the same rights as others.

I'm gonna have to play devil's advocate here and say that all 3 of those are nearly harmless. After all, sexual abuse of a member of the same sex as oneself, of a minor, or of a sibling qualifies as sexual abuse, does it not? That's the only real harm, and whether that occurs in gays, pedophiles, or ... incest-ers? is that a word? Whatever, it ought to be irrelevant.

[General Battuta]

in its defense comparing homosexuality with pedophilia and incest, arguing that we wouldn't consider pedophiles and practitioners of incest as "minorities" and give them the same rights as others.

I'm gonna have to play devil's advocate here and say that all 3 of those are nearly harmless. After all, sexual abuse of a member of the same sex as oneself, of a minor, or of a sibling qualifies as sexual abuse, does it not? That's the only real harm, and whether that occurs in gays, pedophiles, or ... incest-ers? is that a word? Whatever, it ought to be irrelevant.

wtf

Why is homosexuality abuse? And how is abuse harmless?

[Qent]

He said that abuse is the only harm, not homosexuality, pedophilia, or incest; and that any of those three is only harmful insofar as it's accompanied by sexual abuse. (Or "nearly" so.)

[General Battuta]

He said that abuse is the only harm, not homosexuality, pedophilia, or incest; and that any of those three is only harmful insofar as it's accompanied by sexual abuse. (Or "nearly" so.)

You are correct, that makes sense. Thank you.

Well the problem in the case of pedophilia is that the minor is legally unable to provide consent.

[Dilmah G]

Right.

DADT definitely has its merits but in my opinion we should at least trial withdrawing it for perhaps (relatively) isolated logistical and other noncombat units within each service and take a look at the effects. If morale within the unit drops and members are ostracized a fair bit, then perhaps DADT has its place in the Forces for some time to come, but if there isn't a huge effect, then why not trial it forces-wide?

Over here in Aus we had the same **** flying around about letting those who swing that way serve in the ADF and theories that the sky would fall down on every infantry company in the country, but the implementation of the law was a real nonevent. But you're still going to have gay blokes who go about it the 'wrong way' (this is where I bring up the guy who came out as gay to his section buddy as well as saying he was coming onto him), and blokes that no matter what will give the 'gay ****' in the platoon his share and a half of ****. But really, in the next decade, the ADF still exists and the sky most definitely hasn't fallen down on every soldier in the country.

Whilst we don't have as large a fundamentalist Christian base in Australia, I'm not totally convinced that letting homosexuals in the US military will bring the sky and Earth down. You're always going to have people who aren't going to deal with the introduction of homosexuals into the military too well, but with proper education and people who genuinely believe in the law, at least the overwhelming majority should be able to get on with their daily lives.

[Kosh]

I heard a while back that the british military allows openly gay people to serve, is that true?

[Nemesis6]

Yep. But, a quick google search reveals that up until 1999 or so, it apparently wasn't. Most modern European countries, including the Scandinavian ones, allow gays to serve openly. The military of countries like Britain, Denmark, Holland, and France, are not known for known for suffering problems as cause of this, so anyone looking at this rationally should be able to conclude that this whole "unit cohesion/morale" argument is hollow and void, and that they don't actually know what they're talking about.

A very, very good overview of LGBT rights per country: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory