Gay People And Their Right To Militarize

[Seil]

Aparently there's a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy when it comes to gay people in the military? What's going on? I didn't know we had one of those.

The don't ask, don't tell policy, signed in 1993 by former president Bill Clinton, was implemented as a compromise with legislature which opposed a complete repeal of the prior ban on gays in the military. The death of Seaman Allen Schindler in 1992 brought the issue of gay servicemembers to the forefront. Established under the premise of privacy, discretion and protection, the policy bans gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people from serving in the military and prevents military officials from asking probing questions or pursuing investigations of soldiers suspected of being homosexuals. Any servicemember that openly reveals their homosexuality through words or actions are discharged from service.

More reading.

Anyways, Obama's battling this, and I hope he wins. I mean, I don't really go for the military, I'm a more peaceful guy than what I envision the military would allow me, but at the same time I can see that this is discrimination.

dis⋅crim⋅i⋅na⋅tion
  /dɪˌskrɪməˈneɪʃən/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [di-skrim-uh-ney-shuhn]
–noun
1. an act or instance of discriminating.
2. treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit: racial and religious intolerance and discrimination.
3. the power of making fine distinctions; discriminating judgment: She chose the colors with great discrimination.
4. Archaic. something that serves to differentiate.

And I always heard that discrimination was mostly a bad thing.

[Kim]

He's fighting it as much as you can when one of the people you put in a position to get rid of it has actively defended it.

By which I mean not at fucking all.

[Karrrrrrrrrrrresche]

Originally Posted by NonCon

He's fighting it as much as you can when one of the people you put in a position to get rid of it has actively defended it.

By which I mean not at fucking all.

Really?

As a participant recounted one of the sessions, Mr. Obama told Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, that the law was “just wrong.” Mr. Obama told them, the participant said, that he had delayed acting on repeal because the military was stretched in two wars and he did not want another polarizing debate in 2009 to distract from his health care fight.

But in 2010, he told them, this would be a priority. He got no objections.

On Tuesday, in the first Congressional hearing on the issue in 17 years, Mr. Gates and Admiral Mullen will unveil the Pentagon’s initial plans for carrying out a repeal, which requires an act of Congress. Gay rights leaders say they expect Mr. Gates to announce in the interim that the Defense Department will not take action to discharge service members whose sexual orientation is revealed by third parties or jilted partners, one of the most onerous aspects of the law. Pentagon officials had no comment.

Cause it sounds a whole fucking lot like he's trying.

[Funka Genocide]

I never understood the way that was supposed to work, it was entirely too vague.

When you join the military, they do in fact ask you if you are a homosexual. It's one of the first things they get out of the way, so isn't that like "asking"?

Although I will say that it's not like there's an ongoing witch hunt or anything once you get past the initial process. I knew a few people in the navy that were homosexual but its not like they went around telling everyone about their sex life. I mean everyone pretty much knows, but in my experience no one cared. I find it strange, like a lot of the younger generation of the military really doesn't give a shit, the bigots usually get quieted by the general atmosphere of "we're all in this shit together."

I don't think sexual preference should have anything to do with being in the military though. They should just update their damn showers in some of their buildings if they're so worried about it. I mean there's a few places where everyone takes communal showers, other than that it's not like people are running around naked, and if you're so insecure that you walk in terror of being eyed by the "gay menace" well I mean... they're all ready in the military. You've been eyed, get over it.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

I'm down for not letting gay people join the military because I'm down with not letting anybody join the military. We'll just do it one group of people at the time.

[Bob The Mercenary]

Originally Posted by Smarty McBarrelpants

I'm down for not letting gay people join the military because I'm down with not letting anybody join the military. We'll just do it one group of people at the time.

What?

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Originally Posted by Bob the Mercenary

What?

I thought it was pretty straight forward. The less people eligible for the military the better.

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by Bob the Mercenary

What?

He means his view of the military is that it should be slowly dissolved, starting with the exclusion of gays, then working backwards until only white male citizens who own land are allowed, then disallowing them, too, leaving no one, fostering the inevitable collapse of the armed forces.

Edit: Either that, or leaving it to robots. We're headed in that direction, anyway.

[Bob The Mercenary]

I mean, I figured what he was trying to convey was his disapproval of people killing each other to trumpets. As long as he didn't mean unilateral demilitarization, which IMO would be insane.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Originally Posted by Bob the Mercenary

I mean, I figured what he was trying to convey was his disapproval of people killing each other to trumpets. As long as he didn't mean unilateral demilitarization, which IMO would be insane.

You can bet the fuck that's what I mean. Blues got the plan on the head. My alternative plan is to have a completely open military but murder anybody who joins for showing suspicious amounts of nationalism.