Wednesday, February 3, 2010

don’t ask, don’t tell

BY KRAMER STUVLAND

The New York Times posted an article recently not necessarily related to environmental policy, but nevertheless related to a controversial US Policy—the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. For those unfamiliar, the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is a military policy, ratified by congress, regarding US soldiers sexual orientation. Essentially, openly gay or lesbian citizens are not allowed to serve in the military and those that hide or deny their sexual orientation may serve as long as it doesn’t become a “distraction”. This New York Times article discusses Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairmen of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff’s open discussion and argument to congress suggesting congress recall or rethink their current stance on the issue. In his words, “No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.” I cannot help but feel he has a very valid point in this argument, especially given the current condition of oversea struggles. However, Adm. Mullen’s words are not met without criticism. Senator John McCain has spoken out against Mullen saying he is “deeply disappointed,” and that Adm. Mullen’s words were “clearly biased.” Undoubtedly this will be a controversial debate. What are the your thoughts on the subject? What are the pros and cons?

6 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I believe this is a very interesting issue and if the law is changed, then it will lead to more rights for gay and lesbian citizens. This policy is discriminating and many Americans are moving toward giving more rights, so these would be some pros to a change. But this could create conflict with those soldiers against it, and conflict could arise if sexual orientation is expressed on the job. I question whether this is the right time or if the military should wait until the country is less divided on the issue of gay marriage and rights before changing the policy.
    http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/02/10/repeal-of-dont-ask-dont-tell-supported-by-solid-majority/

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  3. Not entirely sure where to stand on this issue. However on a similar yet possibly more controversial note: The U.S. Navy is considering, for the first time EVER, allowing women to partake in their submarine programs via actually staffing the vessels. This is a highly controversial issue. Surely the women posses the skills necessary to pilot and operate the subs, however one must consider that these vessels leave dock for longer than any other ships in the fleet, sometimes not seeing land or even sky for months at a time. Considering that the subs would mainly be populated by males, even if the implementation occurs, the issue is in the fact that sexual diversity could create problems for the population during long voyages. ANY THOUGHTS?

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  4. I think that the military is completely outdated in its "don't ask, don't tell" policy. It seems that the United States has come a long way in making sure equal rights are felt by everyone despite gender, skin color, or sexual orientation. I think gay people absolutely deserve the same rights as everyone else and if they want to be a solider, no one has any right to deny that based on their sexual orientation. The army should focus their efforts on finding people with honesty and integrity, and not waste their time and taxpayer's dollars worrying about these irrelevant details.

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  5. I agree with Admiral Mike Mullen's statement. I also think it's conservative and hypocritical to limit the rights of those serving in our armed forces especially when the majority of Americans want to promote freedom and equal opportunity.

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  6. If a soldier is gay or lesbian, who cares? A straight soldier's orientation can become a distraction just as much as a gay one's can. Its incredible that this is even an issue that needs to be discussed, much less regulated. Gay bullets do the same thing as straight ones.

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