Obama to Delay Action on DADT?

The Washington Times is reporting that president elect Obama's administration may delay action on the repeal of the horrid Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy until 2010, allegedly for the purpose of "reaching consensus." Since polls show that the public overwhelmingly supports a repeal of DADT, I do not understand what consensus building is needed. If the problem is with some of the homophobes in senior military positions, the answer is to tell the Neanderthals that they get on board or get out. Living in this area one sees that DADT ruins real lives and careers and that despite assurances that witch hunts do not occur, the reality is that they DO happen and all it takes is one hostile service member or one officer with a wild hare up his ass to persecute and destroy careers. Believe me, I have had it happen to clients who have been forced from the military and they have never even known for sure who was behind ending their careers. Obama needs to seriously rethink this timetable. Meanwhile, the perennial hysterical closet case windbag, Robert Knight - who needs to just go out and get himself a hot escort some night and get over his internalized homophobia, in my opinion - has his panties in a knot over a possible elimination of DADT. Here are some story highlights:

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President-elect Barack Obama will not move for months, and perhaps not until 2010, to ask Congress to end the military's decades-old ban on open homosexuals in the ranks, two people who have advised the Obama transition team on this issue say.

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Repealing the ban was an Obama campaign promise. However, Mr. Obama first wants to confer with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his new political appointees at the Pentagon to reach a consensus and then present legislation to Congress, the advisers said.

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Delaying the congressional vote a year would give the White House time for consultation, but it would also let ban proponents organize and possibly sway public opinion, as they did in 1993.

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Mr. Obama's gay-ban pledge was not a major campaign issue. However, he provided a policy statement to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest U.S. gay rights group, pledging to repeal the exclusion and to invite back service members discharged under the law. He also said that he wants the Pentagon to school military people on how to treat gays.

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"The eradication of this policy will require more than just eliminating one statute," he told the group, in a statement posted on their Web site. "It will require the implementation of anti-harassment policies and protocols for dealing with abusive or discriminatory behavior as we transition our armed forces away from a policy of discrimination. The military must be our active partners in developing those policies and protocols."

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Ban proponents say removing the restriction would hurt recruiting by discouraging conservative, religiously oriented youths from signing up. "It's true that many in the military have looked the other way and served alongside people they know are into homosexuality," Mr. Knight said. "But that is with the ban in place. Open acceptance would change the atmosphere entirely. If fraternization is a problem now between men and women, imagine the conflicts with openly gay officers who no longer have to be reticent."