Remember all the shrieks and dire predictions from the Christianists before the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell? Well, a new study shows that none of the horrors forecast by hate merchants like Elaine Donnelly and Tony Perkins have come to pass. Instead, a new study shows that DADT repeal has not reduced military readiness and that the integration of openly gay and lesbian members of the military has proceeded more or less problem free. A piece in the Huffington Post looks at the study's findings. Here are highlights:
[A]llowing gays and lesbians to serve openly has not compromised military readiness. . . . . co-authors include professors at the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, and U.S. Marine Corps War College.
What did we find? The comments of a heterosexual Army Ranger who we interviewed sums up the story. He said that repealing DADT "didn't change anything... We've got a guy in the unit who is gay. We've been working together for years and everyone knew, but no one ever cared. For us it's all about whether or not you're good at your job... it's all about quiet professionalism, not about your sexual orientation." Even opponents of DADT repeal told the same story.
Only two service members, both chaplains, were identified as having left the military as a result of DADT repeal. A Pentagon spokesperson told us that she was not aware of a single episode of violence associated with repeal. Pentagon data show that recruitment and retention remained robust after repeal. Survey data also reveal that service-wide, the troops reported the same level of morale and readiness after repeal as they did prior to repeal. And our statistical experiment found that cohesion increased after repeal. Prior to repeal, experts predicted that disaster would follow from allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly. In light of those concerns, the evidence we found is striking.
Last month, the GOP added a provision to its platform that implies that some members of the party suspect that DADT repeal has not gone smoothly: . . . But if concerns remain about repeal's impact on combat effectiveness or the military's ability to pursue its mission, those concerns should finally be laid to rest.
Let's be candid. DADT was NEVER about military readiness. It was always about self-styled "godly Christians" writing discrimination into the nation's laws to punish LGBT individuals for refusing to conform to fear and hate based Christianist religious beliefs. Claims to the contrary - like largely everything else claimed by Christianists and their GOP puppets - simply lies.
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