Conservatives Urge Congress To Maintain Gays In Military Ban

Living in an area that is home of the largest naval base in the world, not to mention numerous other military posts (the Army, Navy and Airforce all have bases in Hampton Roads, and there are plenty of Marines as well), the drivel putout by Elaine Donnelly and company would be farcical if it did not harm real people. Go to ANY gay club in the area and you will see many dedicated gay military personnel who are honorably and diligently serving their country - misbeguided as it may be under the cretinous Chimperator - and causing NO problems with unit morale. Indeed, the biggest source of harm to morale in this region is the rediculous "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy foisted on us by Slick Willie (as Hillary stood silently by and did nothing for the gays she claims to support). Truth be told, DADT's sole true purpose in my view is to stigmatize gays and lesbians in an effort to maintain a mindset that gays are somehow less worthy and/or love our counrty less. Someone truly needs to tell Ms. Donnelly to take an icicle and shove it up her frigid Christianist ass. Here are some highlights from 365gay.com on the Christianist manufactured controversy:

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(Washington) A conservative lobby group is urging Congress to reject legislation that would repeal "Don't Ask, Don' Tell", the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military. The Military Readiness Enhancement Act which would repeal the decade old DADT has bipartisan support and hearings are expected to be held this year. Americans For The Military, part of the conservative Center for Military Readiness, is circulating a petition online to pressure members of Congress to maintain the ban.

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"Forcing a sexual agenda on the armed forces would hurt discipline and moral ... As an American I ask that you uphold this law to help to protect and preserve our military." In an online video, Center President Elaine Donnelly called for an "online army to support the troops".

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Last week the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released data showing that the Army and the Marine Corp, under pressure to increase their numbers, have sharply raised the number of recruits who have felony convictions. (story) The information, released Monday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, shows that the number of soldiers admitted to the Army with felony records jumped from 249 in 2006 to 511 in 2007. And the number of Marines with felonies rose from 208 to 350.

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Meanwhile, under DADT two people every day are dropped from the military for being gay. In the 10 years that DADT has been in force more than 10,000 personnel have been discharged as a result of thed policy, including 800 with skills deemed 'mission critical,' such as pilots, combat engineers, and linguists.

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Last month, Lawrence J. Korb,former Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan, told a joint hearing of the House Armed Services Air and Land Forces Subcommittee and the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee to "get rid of outmoded social restrictions," such as DADT. Last year former Secretary of Defense William Cohen and retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili also called for the ban to be repealed.