pWas "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" a good military policy?

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60 %

No, it wasn't

32 %

Yes, it was

7 %

I have mixed feelings here

@Dec '12 c 157 comments V 523 votes

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523 Votes

12 hr

MadAmerican

v Yes, it was

I was active duty at that time, and it worked. I recently was talking to a Colonel who is active duty and we were discussing this very topic and he told me that since they lifted the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that man on man sexual assult, sexual discrimination, and sexual harrassment cases have jumped through the roof. Most cases are those that involve supervisory personnel using rank and power for sexual favors of young personnel recently enlisted.

Post
13 hr
Bob72370 voted

v No, it wasn't
u

23 hr
oldtimer2 endorsed Pacdog

v Yes, it was
23 hr

cat2009

v Yes, it was

A soldier doesn't need to know the sexuality of the person in their group. The only thing I would be concerned with is if that person could save my life if need to.

Post
Tue
Randolf endorsed Speedieg

v No, it wasn't
u

Tue
HMB1114 voted

v No, it wasn't
u

Mon
Gumbeaux voted

v Yes, it was
May 20

bsking

v Yes, it was

every nation's military has an image to project. I don't really think we want the image of two men or two females in uniform holding hands and worse

Post
May 19
ddj8694 voted

v No, it wasn't
May 19

Jaybird1964

v No, it wasn't

It should be find out and kick out!!!

Post
u

May 19
kosmik voted

v No, it wasn't
u

May 19
debido voted

v No, it wasn't
u

May 19
DesignerLM voted

v Yes, it was
May 18
doggie_luv voted

v No, it wasn't
u

May 18
DonEros voted

v Yes, it was
May 18
DamnGunslinger voted

v No, it wasn't
u

May 18
tomtheterrible endorsed edindav

v No, it wasn't
May 18

Ghost116

v No, it wasn't

I'm in the military. I could care less if the guy fighting next to me is gay. It should only matter that he can physically do the job to standard. Where he sticks his dick should not matter.

Post
May 18
hereto voted

v No, it wasn't
May 17
CharlieRosencr voted

v No, it wasn't
u

May 17
DrSilicon voted

v Yes, it was
May 17
solodad voted

v Yes, it was
May 17
Zach voted

v No, it wasn't
u

May 16
Obsidion voted

v I have mixed feelings here
May 16
PaulUK2901 voted

v No, it wasn't
u

May 16

Gatnos

v No, it wasn't

Homosexuals should be discharged from the military. They are a demoralizing factor and a security risk.

Post
u

May 16

Btmoody

v I have mixed feelings here

As someone serving in the military I can say from what I've seen it's really not a big deal. I thought it was fine the way it was but honestly it's fine now too. I don't think either policies were detrimental to our forces and I never noticed a difference. What I will say, however, is that the military is ran a little different than most things in the country and not all our rights carry over perfectly. I remember hearing once that I joined the military to protect my people's rights not to enjoy them myself. For example, there's certain things I can not do as a member of the armed forces like publicly endorse a candidate, for obvious reasons of course. The military is ...

Post
May 15

N0rthman

v Yes, it was

At the time, yes. It was a step in the right direction.

Post
May 15

NoAmnestyEVER

v Yes, it was

Yes, but a far better solution would be to kick them out of the military with a dishonorable discharge, the same way George Washington did, after he prosecuted gays for sodomy.

r1 reply

Post
May 15
Subway142 endorsed Mr_GO_HERD

v No, it wasn't
May 14

darkknight8472

v No, it wasn't

Post
u

May 14
Thunderchicken endorsed Pacdog

v Yes, it was
u

May 13
BatmanFanGirl voted

v No, it wasn't
u

May 13
mwr endorsed Pacdog

v Yes, it was
May 13
silentrunning endorsed Mr_GO_HERD

v No, it wasn't
May 12
rangerjeff voted

v No, it wasn't
May 12
Fyi1957 endorsed citizen7

v I have mixed feelings here
May 12
DanielZ voted

v No, it wasn't
u

May 11
SlimElmo91 voted

v Yes, it was
u

May 11
RAEMM voted

v No, it wasn't
u

May 10
Glich endorsed Pacdog

v Yes, it was
May 10
Mournwolf voted

v No, it wasn't
May 10

JTHEM

v No, it wasn't

This really an issue for heterosexuals . But, honesty certainly solves most problems in the long term.

Post
u

May 10
bleakoutlook voted

v No, it wasn't
u

u

May 10
tomincali endorsed Pacdog

v Yes, it was
u

u

May 10
Leonard endorsed edindav

v No, it wasn't
u

May 9
Bill voted

v No, it wasn't
u

May 9
looncraz endorsed Pacdog

v Yes, it was
u

May 9
ccchhhrrriiiss endorsed Pacdog

v Yes, it was
May 9

harold_lloyd

v Yes, it was

It was, for its time. But it's time passed, and something more reflective of the society was put in place.

Post

12 hr

MadAmerican

v Yes, it was

I was active duty at that time, and it worked. I recently was talking to a Colonel who is active duty and we were discussing this very topic and he told me that since they lifted the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that man on man sexual assult, sexual discrimination, and sexual harrassment cases have jumped through the roof. Most cases are those that involve supervisory personnel using rank and power for sexual favors of young personnel recently enlisted.

Post
23 hr

cat2009

v Yes, it was

A soldier doesn't need to know the sexuality of the person in their group. The only thing I would be concerned with is if that person could save my life if need to.

Post
May 20

bsking

v Yes, it was

every nation's military has an image to project. I don't really think we want the image of two men or two females in uniform holding hands and worse

Post
May 19

Jaybird1964

v No, it wasn't

It should be find out and kick out!!!

Post
May 18

Ghost116

v No, it wasn't

I'm in the military. I could care less if the guy fighting next to me is gay. It should only matter that he can physically do the job to standard. Where he sticks his dick should not matter.

Post
u

May 16

Gatnos

v No, it wasn't

Homosexuals should be discharged from the military. They are a demoralizing factor and a security risk.

Post
u

May 16

Btmoody

v I have mixed feelings here

As someone serving in the military I can say from what I've seen it's really not a big deal. I thought it was fine the way it was but honestly it's fine now too. I don't think either policies were detrimental to our forces and I never noticed a difference. What I will say, however, is that the military is ran a little different than most things in the country and not all our rights carry over perfectly. I remember hearing once that I joined the military to protect my people's rights not to enjoy them myself. For example, there's certain things I can not do as a member of the armed forces like publicly endorse a candidate, for obvious reasons of course. The military is ...

Post
May 15

N0rthman

v Yes, it was

At the time, yes. It was a step in the right direction.

Post
May 15

NoAmnestyEVER

v Yes, it was

Yes, but a far better solution would be to kick them out of the military with a dishonorable discharge, the same way George Washington did, after he prosecuted gays for sodomy.

r1 reply

Post
Tue

Randolf

People like you dont deserve the freedoms that alloted to you. Im no flamer either im a married man with kids and a united states marine, but hateful ignorance towards others should not be tolerated. If they wanna do there own thing an pay there own way its non of my concern or yours.

Post @Randolf
May 14

darkknight8472

v No, it wasn't

Post
May 10

JTHEM

v No, it wasn't

This really an issue for heterosexuals . But, honesty certainly solves most problems in the long term.

Post
May 9

harold_lloyd

v Yes, it was

It was, for its time. But it's time passed, and something more reflective of the society was put in place.

Post
May 7

InjusticeSucks

v Yes, it was

It was the best we had at the Time

Post
May 6

Bill2E

v Yes, it was

Its a good policy if you know how to "Don't Tell". the problem was it got pushed to the limit and now we are looking at the real situation that gays are openly welcome in the Armed Services. As long as they don't press the issue and require special privileges, it may fly, otherwise there will be a crash down the road. I have no problems with gays in the military, just don't try to influence others to join your cause, let them be themselves also. No peeking in the showers

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May 5

dontmatter

v No, it wasn't

oops, hit the wrong button, should say "YES IT WAS". as you can see, the world is laughing at our dysfunctional military, it sees our polluted military as a joke now, which it is. sexual orientation has nothing to do with military,,,,,you are there to kill people that become hostile and are a threat. do you think they ask before war what your sexual preference is? no they would just kill you either way!

r5 replies

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May 14

darkknight8472

So if you are there to kill, why should your sexual preference matter?

Post @darkknight8472
May 15

NoAmnestyEVER

Don't ask don't tell was Clinton's baby. Guess he hoped it would apply to his own sexual escapades in civilian life.

Post @NoAmnestyEVER
May 15

NoAmnestyEVER

@darkknight8472 - Because gays are the ones who are gonna get killed, by their fellow soldiers.

B1

Post @NoAmnestyEVER
u

May 16

Btmoody

@NoAmnestyEVER Not true at all. If one of my Marines came out as gay I would still die for him and fight by his side and I'm positive he would do the same for me.

Post @Btmoody
u

May 16

Btmoody

I think as long as it doesn't turn into a sideshow of special privileges and sensitivity training there's really no problem at all.

Post @Btmoody
u

May 4

BossTweed

v No, it wasn't

Nope............No one should be expected to be ashamed of, or apologize for, being born Gay. Period. That policy was from back in a time when most thought all Gays wore dresses. Gays are just as different within their sexuality as any one else. We all need to get over Gay stuff and move on.

Post
u

May 3

fraps

v No, it wasn't

A policy that encourages lying or deception can never be good.

Post
u

May 2

seedtick

v Yes, it was

There used to be no problem with knowing who flipped or who flopped. Now the First Sergeant of each unit must post a list of all soldiers along with their sexual preference. That way everyone knows who to shower with. Why the hell do they even have separate facilities for men and women? It doesn't matter any more.

r2 replies

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May 14

darkknight8472

ummmm, what? where the heck did you learn this?

Post @darkknight8472
u

May 15

seedtick

@darkknight8472 I was being facetious about the list posting. But, not about the rest.

Post @seedtick
May 2

Denizen_Kate

v No, it wasn't

The only purpose it served was to gratify homophobes who would prefer that homosexuality didn't exist or that they never need know about it.

Post
May 2

MarkJM

v I have mixed feelings here

For the time in which it was passed, it was a good and necessary policy. That's because in the 90's gays weren't as accepted by society as compared to today. Now that gays/lesbians have become more accepted in society, it was necessary to repeal it.

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u

Sep '12

edindav

v No, it wasn't

To hide your sexuality cannot be healthy and surely if you are in the services then you worrying about what person you find sexually attractive and if your superiors are going to find out. Does not make a good soldier and surely there have been tens of thousands of homosexual men and woman who have served in the services and there seem to have been no complaints of being gay stopping you from performing your duties. I believe that joining such a homophobic place such as the army takes a very strong person who is gay and your sexuality should not come into it. Await the you homosexual loving , pinko, not in our services comments. Small minds.

B2

r4 replies

e47 endorsed

Post
u

Sep '12

Pacdog

v Yes, it was

Keep your private life PRIVATE. nobody needs to know what you do on your own time.

B3

r8 replies

e39 endorsed

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Sep '12

Mr_GO_HERD

v No, it wasn't

As a Veteran I can say that I don't care who you want to sleep with as long as you had my back. Sexual orientation doesn't matter under fire

B1

e33 endorsed

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Sep '12

Speedieg

v No, it wasn't

Forcing people to lie about themselves to do a job of protecting our freedoms is unethical. The emotional harm to them and the outright hypocrisy of repressing their freedom while defending freedom for others was a travesty.

B1

e13 endorsed

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Sep '12

RadAuthNat

v Yes, it was

Yes, we all know they are out there; but they need to stay in the background. It is not productivly healthy to have the gays/lesbos out front in the society.

B3

r5 replies

e10 endorsed

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Sep '12

citizen7

v I have mixed feelings here

I don't think it's good to have to hide who you love and care about. In the same instance it has had a place to help stop discrimination, however it truly is discrimination in it's own right. So therefore, I have truly mixed feelings concerning this topic. I think it should be up to the person whether they want to talk about it or not, but there shouldn't be a law telling them they can't..

e10 endorsed

Post
Sep '12

CanisCanemEdit

v No, it wasn't

24 years I served with soldiers of all sexual orientations. Straight, Gay, Bi, Lesbian, loyal spouses, cheating assholes, man whores, sluts...I even once met a GI that had a rubber woman for a companion. The thing is, when the shit hits the fan, all that crap goes out the window and the only thing that matters is finishing the mission and getting home alive. Most every soldier I ever met gave two damns about Clinton or his DADT. At most it meant more bullshit "classes" for all soldiers.

B2

r1 reply

e5 endorsed

Post
o

Sep '12

Stratton

v Yes, it was

I think it was the right policy at the time, and should be seen as a bridge step between the old prohibition of homosexuals serving at all, and the current policy of being able to serve openly. I think history will see it as a positive step.

B1

e4 endorsed

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u

Sep '12

Just_Lisa

v Yes, it was

I just can't understand shouting from the roof tops your sexual preference. Amongst friends, sure. It seems like to me that "coming out of the closet" is an attention thing, and gets a hu-rah and a pat on the back for being different. How many men who prefer women do you hear doing this? Or vice versa. I just think some things should remain private.

B1

r3 replies

e3 endorsed

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Sep '12

Fishbone345

v I have mixed feelings here

Originally it was intended to help stop discrimination by allowing Gays and Lesbians to serve in the military and keep their home life to themselves without fear of repercussion by knowledge. It morphed into something different however as is the case with most legislation.

e4 endorsed

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