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DADT’s Death Rattle Just Got Louder

Jim Burroway

June 13th, 2007

Sunday, it was Colin Powell calling for an end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Today, the Wall Street Journal features an op-ed by rabidly anti-gay former Georgia congressman Bob Barr, the author of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), saying “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” should go: (Sorry, no link; it’s not online):

Attitudes both within and outside the military have shifted greatly since 1993 when the current policy was formulated. Three-quarters of returning Iraq and Afghanistan vets said in a December 2006 Zogby poll that they are “personally comfortable” interacting with gay people. A majority of those who knew someone gay in their unit said the person’s presence had no negative impact on unit morale. Among the public at large, polls show consistently that roughly two- thirds of Americans favor letting gays serve, including majorities of Republicans, regular churchgoers and even people with negative attitudes toward gays.

These reasons, and the credibility of many experts making the arguments, have convinced me that there is little reason left to believe gays openly serving would break the armed forces. Americans want strong, moral leadership, and they are quick to sniff out pandering and expediency. It sure would be nice if the presidential wannabes were as quick to realize this.

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Timothy Kincaid
June 13th, 2007 | LINK

The chorus grows louder.

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