Published: Friday, December 03, 2010
Tuesday the Pentagon released a survey showing solid support from military service members for allowing gay men and women to serve openly. The study offers compelling evidence that policies should change. That shift should happen soon, before Congress adjourns for the year.
The survey convincingly obliterates one of the chief rationales for keeping in place the rule known as "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT). Status quo supporters argue that ending the ban would damage unit cohesion and undermine military morale. Let's hear from the troops, they said.
Here's what the troops had to say: 70 percent of them believe allowing gay men and women to serve openly would not harm their unit's ability to work together. Granted, the Pentagon survey found anti-repeal sentiment stronger among combat troops, and especially strong among Marines. Nevertheless, the study found that nearly 70 percent of service members know they are serving with someone who is gay – and 92 percent of those say that fact does not harm the ability to work together. In other words, service members are already effectively fighting side-by-side with gay colleagues.
Keeping the ban in place has likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars, mostly to recruit replacements for those who were ousted.
{Read the story. http://www.mlive.com/opinion/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/12/editorial_why_openly_gay_servi.html}
