Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Pat
Maybe I am wrong, but wasn't Don't Ask Don't Tell originally implemented to allow homosexuals to serve in the military? It was passed during the Clinton administration, and I certainly don't think Bill Clinton had a bone to pick with gay people.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by captaincaptain
The DoD banned homosexuality in 1982, so yes DADT did allow homosexuals to serve.
|
Good points. I wasn't thinking about how DADT was an improvement on the outright banning of homosexuality that came before. So DADT must have been a (compromise) attempt at making the military more inclusive of people who are gay, lesbian or bi.
Still, I feel the policy didn't go far enough toward full equality for people regardless of sexual orientation, and so in my opinion the policy was still demeaning, unjust, sexist, mean and spiteful. It treated a certain subset of people as if they were second-class citizens, and violated freedom of speech.
If the DADT policy had been fair (albeit still in violation of freedom of speech), then it would have prevented *everyone* in the military from discussing a significant other. Instead, "The act prohibits any homosexual or bisexual person from disclosing his or her sexual orientation or from speaking about any homosexual relationships, including marriages or other familial attributes, while serving in the United States armed forces."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_ask,_don%27t_tell
I understand that steps toward equality under the law occur step by step (obviously)...but that doesn't make me approve of or applaud bigoted laws, policies, or acts, even if they are improvements over what proceeded them. Reading Wikipedia's article, I learned that "since the policy was introduced in 1993, the military has discharged over 13,000 troops from the military under DADT." Sad.