Don't Ask, Don't Tell

It doesn't have to be replaced with anything... the military already has rules regarding inappropriate conduct between soldiers, fraternization, etc... All getting rid of "don't ask, don't tell" changes is issues of disclosure and perhaps the gender of partners, if there are relationships involved.

I personally think that one's sexual orientation shouild be confined to one's domicile or personal habits and not a subject for discussion. Comes under the heading of hearsay and gossip. A good example of the harm it can do as public knowledge is found in our highschools as the "Gays" are the butt of some real cruel comments and most of them are not, in fact, gay in the first place. Acceptance comes through knowing the people involved not through an edict or set of rules..........

Bravo, Rob R. I could not agree more. Mr. Independent has frequently expressed views that reveal his anti-gay sentiments. And the most salient point, which you make, is that the discrimination that Don't Ask, Don't Tell [hopelessly dated sounding even when it began] engenders, does prevent gay and lesbian soldiers from being able to mention a partner by name. It is an insult to these relationships to be deprived of the normalcy of relaying a story from home in a natural and unguarded manner.

I tend to agree with tk. Maybe it is due to a touch of political PTSD. I remember being with my partner and hearing the "gays in the military" question asked of Bill Clinton, right after the election. I was hoping for a slick and evasive answer. When he gave a direct answer, I knew it would cause a shit storm. I didn't know how big.

I have no doubt that this is doable now. I also have no doubt that this will bring nut cases in from the sidelines that have had no position or traction on economic issues. This won't stop things, but might cause coalitions to form that may make things more bumpy.

Of course, the emphatic response here, may be a message that PEBO's people wanted to send after the Rick Warren dust up.

DADT is codified into law (thanks Sam Nunn). It needs to be repealed and that requires 60 votes in the US Senate. While we can probably count with a handful of Republicans (Specter, Snowe, Collins) to support repeal, I'm not convinced we have the votes from the Democrats. My own dem senator (Bill Nelson) supports the ban.

Personally I wouldn't even dream of joining the military. But if gays want to join an extremely homophobic and sexist institution, then they should go for it, I suppose.