IF Obama wins (huge if)....the centrist, Corporate Democrats will bring with them painful memories of the 1993 Clinton debacle with "Don't Ask/Don't Tell." They will be petrified of touching this issue...So, Obama will take 95% of the gay vote then he'll ignore this issue once in power.

If McSame wins....strangely enough, there might be a better chance of his altering the policy...yet he has to kiss the Religious Right's ass so he might be dissuaded from making changes.

As a gay man, Iraq has altered my beliefs on this issue...it's no longer important to me. Right now I don't support any young person, whatever their orientation, joining the service. When our nation stops behaving like Imperial Britain or Rome in their heydays...then I'll re-examine the issue.

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I am encouraged by the poll numbers showing even Republicans support gays in the military and that acceptance is gaining ground in this country. Nevertheless, it is a stupid thing for Democrats in Congress to bring up in an election year as it will pump up the shrill anti-gay alarmists. I think Bill Clinton's proposal in 1993 was a factor in 1994 loss. I also hope Obama takes Nunn off the short list for VP since he was part of the conservative Democrats resistent to Bill Clinton initiative in 1993.

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These articles from Military.com:

Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy Costs Millions

Study: Gays Don't Harm Unit Cohesion

Survey: Most Recruits Don't Object To Gays In The Military

Other articles

Of course, If you read the comments there are many idiots... but many non-idiots as well. Many soldiers consider it an insult to say that they are so unprofessional as to be distracted by a fellow soldier's personal life.

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Gays and lesbians should absolutely be allowed to serve on equal terms with their straight colleagues - let's face it, they've been laying their lives down for America since it was just a bunch of colonies, even though they've had to hide way in the back of the closet to do so, which shows a higher level of commitment to the forces than most. I'm glad that gay men and lesbians may be finally getting a fair hearing.

But this article seems to be saying that bi people aren't part of the process. Oh, not explicitly, but by omission. Either the author deliberately excluded us, which I don't believe for one moment, or we're not even part of their view of queer folk. And that's a problem. We're being rendered invisible even in a debate about whether or not a law that directly discriminates against us is going to be properly examined, and it's not even because the author's got it in for us - we just don't exist. Again.

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back to protect one another. Gay soldiers were paired. It was believed, perhaps correctly, that they would fight all the harder to protect their lover.

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I have been told that during the Viet Nam war, our young men could avoid the draft by claiming to be homosexual. Is it possible that this change of heart now is in preparation for a draft? Since homosexuality is no longer seen as negative by the majority of Americans, especially our young, perhaps the military realizes that they must fix this problem or else the draftees would simply claim to be gay and flaunt the don't ask, don't tell rule.

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It's fine and well for those that want to join to be able to do so.

But what this really opens up is a wider pool of candidates to draft into the military as cannon fodder in some nightmarish hellhole.

Do you realize how few ways there are out of the military/draft? Very, very few.

This is not something to celebrate.

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