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Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Should the Pentagon's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy be changed to allow openly gay service members?
Comment: I was a WAVE in the early 60's, everyone knew who was gay, or straight, prostitutes or just not active sexually...we don't need to label people. If they do the job, let them continue, if not then discharge them for that reason, not for their sexual preference. from pensacola, fl by georgia
Comment: The Year is now 2008. IT IS TIME, don't ya' think? Some of the BEST and MOST SUCCESSFUL People I knew in the Navy 'came out' to me. I NEVER had a problem with this. If anything, I felt 'sorry' for their discrimination by some. It's TIME for CHANGE!! from Milton / FL by William
Comment: No allowing Men and Woman to Serve who are Gay in the Service is aginst God's Law's and is wrong. God does not honor Sin. from Navarre FL by Jason
Comment: I spent 20 years in the military and retired in 1992. During my career, I had the opportunity to lead, and work, with numerous soldiers that were gay and we all knew it. I personnally never had any disciplinary problems with any of them and all the ones I knew served honorably. They were in many cases some of the best soldiers I came across.
My feelings are that they should be allowed to serve openly as gays. The military has policies in place dealing with any potential sexual harrassment that may evolve but I don't think that will be a serious issue.
I would gladly and proudly serve again alongside a soldier that was gay. from Gulf Breeze, FL by Rick
Comment: My sister and I have been associated with the military all of our lives. We have known gay services members, who were forced to serve their country in the closet. Gay's have served in the military forever. Let them serve. Proudly.
Betty Harrah
Linda Ashwell from Milton/FL by Betty
Comment: I believe we as homosexuals should be able to serve openly in the Military. I think it is wrong that we should have to hide who we are just to serve our country. from Cantonment,Fl by John
Comment: They hold jobs , pay taxes etc and should have the same rights as the rest of us. from Pensacola,FL by Evelyn
Comment: Sexuality should not be misconstrued as professional, personal, or moral conduct. It is simply a preference that we are born with. Therefore it should have no bearing on the "employment" of anyone gay or straight - military or otherwise. from FWB/FL by Brian
Comment: to be honest, there have been gays all down through history. i don't have what their sexual preference is as long as is in not smeared in my face. if the gays want to defend this country let them have at it. i am not against gay people at all, but i have never met a gay man who would not be so nellie in the time of facing the enemy. for pete's sake, some gay men are more of a woman than me. makes you think about who defends this country. in other countries, gays would be killed. from pensacola, florida by dee
Comment: The military's infrastructure today could not accomodate openly gay people in the military Although I support gays as equal peers, it would take a lot of money and attitudes to change this situation.How do we do this? Segregated Quarters? Segregated bathrooms? Segregated locker rooms? How could you do this on an aircraft carrier? A destroyer? Do we need segregated accomodations? If not, how do we prevent the tensions? How do we prevent homophobia? Is that gonna be like prejudice? A lot of questions need to be answered first before this can be enacted. from Milton, Fl by Abe
Comment: This is not new! It's about time we open our eyes, they are someones children. by De Ann
Comment: The only reason gays are allowed, is numbers. There are not enough "quallified" High School grads to fill the ranks. from FL by Tom
Comment: Allowing to openly disclose would permit open sexuality in public. Consider the cost for HIV treatment. from Pensacola, Fl. by Linda
Comment: America shows it's ignorance daily. Is a bullet going to ask are you gay or straight before it kills. Is a wounded soldier going to ask are you gay or straight before you try to save my life. Please america can we move beyond our prejudice. from Milton, Fl by Colleen
Comment: WHO CARES WHAT PEOPLE DO IN THE BEDROOM. KEEP IT TO YOURSELF. from BAKER, FLORIDA by MARCIA
Comment: The shift FROM traditaional values are the cause of the decline in our society. from pensacola / Fl by w
Comment: Let me put it to you this way....do females like taking open bay showers, using the same restroom, using the same dressing room, and sleep in the same tent with a large group of men? The answer is of course not, because men are of the opposite sex. Gay men are the opposite sex of straight men. That's why military personel don't like living and working close quarters with them. I spent 22 years in the Air Force and I know would avoid the showers if I knew gays were allowed in there. from Navarre, Fl by Benny
Comment: It doesn't matter, all service members serve as one team for the same country. from Milton/FL by A
Comment: Yes, the Pentagon should allow openly gay service members. If a person can pass a test and can pass a boot camp, he should be allow to go reguardless of his sexual preference. I don't believe GOD said that gays should not have the right to defend their country or don't ask, don't tell anybody. And if HE did said that, then it should be between GOD and gays. We should NOT judge. Hey, after all, I thought we're living in a FREE country. from Pensacola, FL by Christian
Comment: they have been there since the beginning of the armed forces...if they want to serve our country...then they should be allowed so without hesitation...i cannot believe the armed forces have the nerve to limit who goes in when they are so short on manpower to serve a bunch of people who have never served and dictate policy...? these are the same people who have children who will never serve and do not have a problem paying the high cost of fuel...am i the only one who see a problem with this? from p'cola by h
Comment: NO - NO - NO!!! If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That concept was drilled into my head during military service. For two-hundred years our military has done its' job without openly encouraging or eliciting homosexuality. Why start now? I don't think that with all the other problems encountered in the military, one has to be concerned with the aspect of homosexuality, this world is screwed up enough without having to worry about sexual persuation while trying to do a job. from Mary Esther, Fl. by Tom
Comment: I served 20 years in the Navy with some of the finest gay people, who did a wonderful job for our country. The problems and costs related to gay and straight vs male and female are not even close. In my opinion don't ask don't tell is pretty stupid. from pensacola fl by james
Comment: The current policy excludes very much needed skills and expertise of many people who want to serve. That in and of itself in my opinion should be a crime. from M by D
Comment: As a USAF Airman, I feel the military should keep the don't ask don't tell policy." Not being homophobic or anything but not everyone is comfortable with gay people. It would do nothing but create more problems between people in the military. It is not discrimination against gays its just the code of conduct in the military. If something is not broke then dont fix it. from Hurlburt Fld by Donte
Comment: Absolutely not...who wants to sleep next to a gay (queer) person. Or maybe they should put them in and put them on the front line and let them be the ones that are killed and let our good soldiers come home. from Pensacola, FL by Marilyn
Comment: It's counterintuitive for a civilized nation to oppress any group of people in this way. The "Don't ask, don't tell" policy is a relic of an unfortunately closed-minded past. from Sarasota, Florida by Jeremy
Comment: As a retired member of the armed services I say a resounding "NO". Queers have been banned from the service to many years. Changing their name to 'gays' does not change the reason they were banned. from Pensacola, Fl by Oscar
Comment: What does sexual orientation have to do with being able to do a job well? Since when was "prejudice" an ethical behavior? by Amy
Comment: A female specialist reported that it didn't matter what 2 female solders did, as long as a guy could watch... from Crestview/FL by Val
Comment: I spent 12 years in the navy I was gay there and still am. I own a gay bar in Pensacola and have had sailors from my commands come here. They knew or figuerd it out after and didn't care. If you do the job the military ask you to do, then who cares.
Ms Barrows, if would like to hear my story on this subject, I would be glad to get with you.
Very Respectfully,
Doug from Pensacola by Douglas
Comment: As Defined by on line sources, this is a "cut and paste" of the on line encyclopedia defintion, it reads as follows: The act prohibits any homosexual or bisexual person from disclosing his or her sexual orientation, or from speaking about any homosexual relationships, including marriages or other familial attributes, while serving in the United States armed forces. The policy also requires that as long as gay or bisexual men and women in the military hide their sexual orientation, commanders are not allowed to investigate their sexuality. The net effect of this policy is that the military does not take an official stance against gay or bisexual desire; one must engage in open homosexual acts to commit a punishable offense. Descrimination is descrimination, no matter what individual we are talking about. Descrimination is the singling out of a type of people as what happened in the nazi extermination camps for the Jews and gays, and the slavory of African Americans, and Chinease Americans
from 32501 by The
Comment: Allow straight or gay Amercians to serve the country proudly from Cantonment, FL by Sonia
Comment: Absolutely, service members of every persuasion should be treated with the same respect and held to the same requirements. There was a time that black ppl and women were restricted from the armed forces - its time we move beyond the gay crap, too. from Pensacola, FL by Summer
Comment: i admire all servicemembers and am NOT prejudiced but the system of keeping sexual habits privy is best, as is! The few who come forth boldly announcing their sexual preferrences will only cause an annoyance amongst the troops. from milton by rhonda
Comment: No It's aginst God's Laws No Gay Service members is wrong and aginst God's word. We need to stand for waht is right. from Navarre FL by Jason
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