While presidential hopeful John McCain continues to support Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, a vast – and growing – number of Americans are coming out against the discriminatory policy:
Public attitudes about gays in the military have shifted dramatically since President Bill Clinton unveiled what became his administration’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy 15 years ago today.
Seventy-five percent of Americans in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll said gay people who are open about their sexual orientation should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military, up from 62 percent in early 2001 and 44 percent in 1993.
Majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents alike now believe it is acceptable for openly gay people to serve in the U.S. armed forces.
See? Americans aren’t as dumb as people think!
Brandon
yea they arent that dumb, they will allow us to fight and die for them, but not be equals! YAY!
Brian Miller
It is pathetic that the Republicans and Democrats essentially agree on this issue — gays won’t serve openly.
While Obama couches his opposition in platitudes about “progress” and “when the time is right,” ask him why he hasn’t co-sponsored MREA as a Senator, and he suddenly gets downright bitchy.
Angry, hateful opposition and quiet, spineless opposition are both opposition.
While McCain is doubtlessly wrong, Queerty shouldn’t give spineless Barry O. a free pass on this issue either.
RPCV
They’re deperate to repeal it because they need soldiers. Apparently these days, they accept anything, e.g., folks with criminal records, full body tattoos, gays, etc.
MIkey Garcia
No, we Americans aren’t that dumb. Just our elected leaders are.
fri
gays in the military: benefits to straight people…
-if queers are allowed to serve in the army, maybe their dicks and clits will get shot off, eliminating the sexual threat they pose to straight people!
-returning veterans with post-tramatic stress disorder might never be able to be in a healthy, meaningful relationship again, eliminating the threat of gay marriage!
-some sociologists estimate that 10% of the population is gay. there’s been over 4,000 dead US soldiers so far, which means 400 dead queers! imagine matthew shepard times 400. thats how much straight people love us!
Dilroy
Honestly, is anyone monitoring this boards? Saucy discourse is one thing, porn spam is another. Now the Fri post is pure Fred Phelps. Why do these posts always stay up?
crazylove
Far be it from me to be an optimist amongs the sad nellies here, but the fact is the attitude towards us gays has progressively (yes pun intended) been getting better over the last decades. It’s not on just this issue alone, but on issues like gay marriage, employment, etc. Even on the gay marrige issue, although the numbers aren’t at the majority, all one has to do is to compare the polling to a decade and half ago to realize that there has been a slow progression. We have a long way to go, but can you please stop shitting on every positive develop as if it’s a negative. The fact is as we fight for our rights, it does us no good to not realize things are changing. it only serves to make one pessimistic rather than realistic. For the record, if you compare our advance to other movements- such as the woman’s movement and the black civil rights movement- our progress has been extremely impressive in historical terms. That’s not saying we don’t have a long way to go, but it is to stop the crapping on when we have progressed that I’m reading here.
John
Well, there isn’t much Obama can do about the issue. A Democratic controlled Congress enacted DADT back in 1993. And now, they’re going to have to repeal it.
But try telling that to Nancy Pelosi when she embarks on another one of her “Not Listening” photo-op tours. Somebody needs to remind Madame Speaker that she’s the constitutionally appointed head of one branch of the U.S. federal government, not First Lady.
Carpe Diem, ALREADY!
(snicker)
RPCV
As dumb as the Democrats are they’ll probably repeal DADT and make it mandatory that gays be given preference due to past discrimination. That way they’ll let more queers join than straights and more faggots than straights will be killed in action. The rednecks will love it!! I can see the headline now: “60% More Gays Than Straights Killed Defending America’s Freedom.” Those that AIDS didn’t claim, war will!! LOL.
Dilroy
“Well, there isn’t much Obama can do about the issue.”
Typical Obama apoligist. I heard Bush make these same excuses both times he ran and queers seem to have learned nothing. To suggest the president of the united states has no influence over public policy is absurd and is a doesn’t bode well for non-sell-out gays once Obama is elected.
Just like most of the positions he’s taken since he won power’ same old politics as usual.
nerdy
I never understood why people that hate “the gays†have an objection to “the gays†volunteering to fill a body bag in an illegal war? Maybe they’ll do what they did in past wars and group discriminated groups of people together and put them in for danger duty for less pay. It can be the new black cavalry errr I mean pink brigade.
Ok attempt at lame joke aside how sad is it that we’ll let you all fight and die for “us†but when “your†service is done just so you all know you’re not equal and don’t have any rights.
What’s with Americans and civil rights anyways? Why is this so difficult?
Vicente Fox
The 25% who are against gay people who are open about their sexual orientation serving in the U.S. military are probably the same 25% who still think Bush is doing a good job as president.
I guess 1 out of 4 people are just stupid and immune to the facts, and always will be.
fri
dilroy, my comments are obviously sarcastic, meant to draw attention to the reasons why homophobic straight people might want to see queer people fight (and die) in the military. maybe you should read more carefully — i don’t think fred phelps refers to queer people as “us”.
LikaStarr
Well hell… I came here to offer my own saucy bit of sarcasm but I see everyone has beaten me to it.
For those who don’t get the sarcastic remarks just understand this. It’s part of the healing process. Or, should I say “dealing with it” process. It is a way of making light of a seriously sad matter at hand.
It kind of works like this. Get mad, fight back, tip the scale, find a way to laugh about it so that you’re not scarred for life. Live happily ever after.
Yeah, I know… Some of you will think, “What dreamboat is he sailing on?” I can answer that. My dreamboat is named “Harmony” and it’s on long, rough voyage. But someday it will sail into port.
Brandon
#11 i totally agree
crazylove
Except being defensive such as by using sarcasm is the only thing way too many gay people have Likastarr. Gay men in general are kind of the walking wounded emotionally in this society given how this society has treated us and how far we got to go. I get why the sarcasm exists. I just don’t think its healthy to internalize this crap at every turn.
RPCV
Crazylove: You wrote: “Gay men in general are kind of the walking wounded emotionally in this society given how this society has treated us and how far we got to go.”
Oh, you poor thing. My violin is playing for you. I understand though, cause you’re such a victim… Have you taken your Paxil today? If you do, maybe you’ll feel better.
Dilroy
Ok Fri, spot on. My sarcasm detector happen to have broken before I read the whole thing.
Thanks
crazylove
Exhibit A of the walking wounded: RPCV
I’ve read your other shit on this blog. Man, it’s clear you’ve been hit upside the head with the bat at least a few times. Some people come through that shit strong, but others end up like you. Fucked in the head, but not knowing it. That’s why I keep comparing you to a crackhead.
M Shane
I’m a little suspicious of that data just as is. I would be happier with a more complete study, and one knowing what questions are asked.
Another at least as important issue is that the draft MUST be reissued.
There is no question that the ease with which the wealthy and influential start wars is that the only people who fight and die are the poor and disenfrachized. A member of the CIA reported a conversation with a well heeled citizen who reportedly said publicly ” It shouldn’t bother any one that it only costs us 3-4 liveas /day to keep the price of Oil under $3/gallon” He reported that no one in the upper classes even knows anyone who fights,
only the disposable poorer people.
Perhaps if the children of the people who started wars were at risk, they would not be so
easy to begin wars to steal other peoples resources.
RPCV
crazylove: Well, if you consider yourself “walking wounded” for being gay then you’ve got BIG problems. Again, give your Paxil another try, and grow up!!
crazylove
Except that’s not what I wrote. You can of course pretend that’s what I wrote and argue against your strawman, but what really I wrote was “way too many gay people .” Not all or even a majority- just way too many. Along with working on your crackhead addiction you may want to take a class in reading comprehension.
Brandon
M shane: fuck the draft. like hell ill risk my life for this country.
crazylove
M Shane
As of 2006, Gallup says that 89 percent of the American public is against discriminating against gays in the work place- ie firing them based on their sexual orientation. Seen in the light of vocation or career, rather than hot button issue over what one thinks of the military, joining the military is probably just an extension of that belief rather than “well they are foder too.”
I am pretty skeptical. I think it is good. But, like I said being able to see things realistically doesn’t require denying improvement. I guess the question is what is more likely- the fact that Americans support equal protection in the work place being the reasoning considering the polling data or that they see us as fodder. Its been my experience that if someone doesn’t like you based on sexual orientation- they aren’t as rational as to think – well they are fodder so that helps me.
CHURCHILL-Y
And after all the jibba jabba written by the Obamatons in this thread Brian Miller’s point remains and will remain unaddressed by the Hussein lovers: ” ask him why he hasn’t co-sponsored MREA as a Senator ”
CHANGE/FLIP-FLOPS
WE CAN BELIEVE IN ’08
fri
crazylove, i don’t think that usage of sarcasm is as simple as just being a byproduct of internalized self-hatred. in the way i was trying to use it, it was a critique of homophobia, so there was in fact sincerity behind it.
crazylove
Fri
That is the case for maybe you, and maybe for others. I don’t mean to be unfair. but it does seem that people are quick to go to hate versus other reasons for why others maybe able to say that they are okay with gay in the military. It’s like we assume the worse because we think the worse of ourselves. But, as you say, I maybe judging you all here too broadly with the brush of how homophobia seems to internalize itself (including through sarcasm), and for that I apologize. It’s just odd- I was telling some other gay folks I was looking foreward to the Ang Lee movie about the gay guy who started Woodstock, and I was told that it wasn’ a gay movie. I was asking why not? The lead is gay, so why isn’t the movie gay? The real answer although I didn’t push it- is that I suspect because they have come to think of gay as a certain subset of rituals. Ie, you know, the coming out story, etc. We can’t think more broadly. That’s my point here. That when we see some progress- we go back to the hate. Narrowing our choices of what maybe opportunities.