Friday Flamebait: Retired General Says We Should End DADT

I agree with Ed about this.

I have the same position that conservative icon Barry Goldwater took on this question. The only thing that mattered to Goldwater was whether a soldier could shoot straight. As long as a member of the military abides by the regulations governing conduct, sexual orientation should make no difference. In fact, DADT has proven that correct. The policy presumes that gays can serve effectively in the military unless their orientation becomes public. That means that the problem isn’t with the soldier or sailor, but with the service itself, a rather odd hypocrisy that sometimes gets overlooked. When else do we discriminate on the basis of not what a person is or does, but what others think of it? The sixteen-year experiment of DADT shows that gays serve effectively in the military otherwise, which should be enough for them to have the same access to serving their country as anyone else. It has also not produced a massive exodus of people from the service during that time.

Be sure to click through to get to the General's remarks, which directly address the argument that repealing DADT will lead to soldiers quiting or deciding not to enlist.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 01:13 PM

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