Pentagon Releases Results Of Study On DADT/Urges Senate To Repeal NOW. No More Excuses, GOP Senators.

The Pentagon Has Released Results Of 10-Month Long Study Of Effects Of Ending “DADT” On Service Members.

115,000 troops answered the questionnaire as did several thousand spouses.

Results: Of those surveyed, 69% said they’d served with a gay service member. 92% said they were able to work together. 70% said allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would have positive, mixed or no effect. 30% had negative expectations – though many of them weren’t aware of having served alongside a gay service member.
 
Check out this clip from TRMS on the Pentagon’s Report and the statements of many GOP lawmakers prior to the study, saying that they wouldn’t vote to repeal until the results were back and the military brass supported doing so (Well, they’re baaaack,):
Enjoy!
Intransigent GOP Out Of Excuses On DADT.

The U.S. ban, known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was adopted in 1993 as some sort of compromise. It requires the military to expel gays and lesbians who are open about their sexual orientation or who have been “outed” – regardless of how long they have served, how many medals they have earned or what rank they have achieved.

According to the Pentagon, about 13,000 American service members have been discharged under the ban.

Question: In the face of two continuing wars in which our military have been forced to do repeated tours due to lack of personnel and considering the fact that there are several international hot-spots of military unrest – isn’t the fact that we have lost 13,000(and counting…) of our brave, devoted and patriotic service members a threat to our national security?

Meanwhile… throughout the rest of the World, 25 countries (incl. the U.K., Canada, Australia & Israel) allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in their militaries.

During their press conference, Sec’y of Defense Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair. Adm. Mike Mullen, Working Group co-chairs Defense Department General Counsel Jeh C. Johnson and Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, concluded the risk of repeal of DADT to overall military effectiveness is low. Sec’y Gates also urged Congress to achieve the repeal before the Courts overturn the policy.

*A Little Background: In 2006 (Before he campaigned for the Presidency and lost (sarah palin) to Barack Obama), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was clear about his position on the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. McCain stated that he would support repealing DADT if our top military brass declared they agreed with implementing the change.

And I Quote:

“The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, ‘Senator, we ought to change the policy,’ then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it,”
- Senator John McCain, speaking in October 2006, to Iowa State University students.

And now, despite his own public statements like the quote above and despite all of the considerable effort, consideration and hard work put into this 10-month long study by America’s highest military leaders…
On Meet the Press, the reigning poster-boy for Sore-Losers, Arizona’s Republican(‘t) Senator John McCain told host David Gregory:

“I will listen, as I’ve said for years, to our military leaders and not a [study] that is leaked, as we know this town’s been good at that.”

What?!  Dear Demented Senator McCain: The fact that some of the Pentagon Study’s findings were leaked… Does Not… I repeat… Does Not render said findings “flawed”.  Nor does the fact that you feel that the majority of your constituents support the continued (and unconstitutional) discrimination of gays and lesbians.

Or, as said by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network executive director Aubrey Sarvis, in response to McCain’s remarks: “Sen. McCain is clearly out of touch, not only with the American people, but also the Pentagon and our troops,”  “McCain seems to be saying he wants a do-over because he doesn’t like the findings and recommendations in the Pentagon report going to Secretary Gates.”

“In other words, McCain is telling the Pentagon: Keep working until you produce the outcome I’m looking for.”

HELLO?  U.S. SENATE?  Are You (Finally) Hearing This?  Are You (Finally) Getting It? No More Excuses.  The Question Has Been Asked And Answered.  Please Honor And Respect Our Top Military Leaders, Our Fellow Americans and The U.S. Constitution And Vote To Repeal DADT, Now!

*And, SHAME ON Those GOP SENATORS who claimed to be “open-minded” about Repeal and said they were waiting for the release of The Report. (It’s Released.) You who – even now, despite what’s been said and done – are already overtaxing your Petty, Pathetic, Prejudiced, Unpatriotic & Pointy heads in a rush to come up with any baseless challenge you can to call into question the legitimacy of the Pentagon’s report and to try to impede DADT’s repeal.


Dear Anti-Repeal Senate Republicans:  You do know what happened to your Ancestors, don’t you?  You know whom I’m speaking of:  I’m Talking About All Of Those Plodding Prehistoric Reptiles… The Ones That Were Infinitely Bigger, Much More Powerful & Way Badder Than You. Those Ancestors of Yours.  Remember them?  Yeah?  Good.  Well, Eventually, All Of Them Went Completely Extinct.  Gone… Poof… Almost Like They Were Never There In The First Place… Well, ‘cept for some ol’ fossilized bones.  And Guess What?  Someday (Thankfully) So Will You.

Peace,
L.