The so-called "Don't Ask Don't Tell" regulations may be one step closer to death. A recent survey shows that nearly three-quarters of soldiers don't mind the idea of gays serving in the military. What's more, 59% of soldiers polled by the Zogby International and the Michael D. Palm Center know at least one gay person in the military. PageOneQ reports:

Seventy-three percent of US military members would accept openly gay and lesbian service members being in their units... Over one in five respondents to the survey said they know for certain that someone in their unit is gay or lesbian. The survey was conducted of both combat and non-combat units...

A similiar survey taken in 1993 showed that a meager 13% of soldiers supported queer comrades. So, what does this all mean?

Well, there's no saying for sure, but activists hope it'll bring about some much-needed change.

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network executive director C. Dixon Osburn says:

Those who defend the law have argued that openly gay personnel harm military readiness. This research highlights the absurdity of such a hypothesis. Not only are there more than 65,000 lesbians and gays serving in the armed forces, but many are serving openly. Their straight colleagues are just fine with that At a time when our fighting forces are stretched thin and leaders are calling for the recruitment of more troops, it is time for Congress to do away with this archaic law.

We can't help but wonder what's caused the change - are Americans more accepting of gays or are the soldiers simply over-worked? A little bit of both, perhaps?

(By the way, we bet Reichen splooged over the news. He probably thinks his book had something to do with it. Which, we suppose, is possible...not likely, but definitely possible.)