Don't Ask (Especially Not Now!), Don't Tell, Don't Employ

by Diane Farsetta — March 24, 2004 - 12:00am
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"When they need people, they keep them. When they don't, they implement their policy of discrimination," said the director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. The group found that "the number of gays dismissed from the military under the Pentagon's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy has dropped to its lowest level in nine years as U.S. forces fought in Afghanistan and Iraq." In related news, the Log Cabin Republicans protested the Office of Special Counsel's decision to remove "information about sexual-orientation discrimination" from federal websites. The websites were changed based on the new Special Counsel's interpretation of a 1978 law, which he believes bans discrimination based on homosexual conduct, but not homosexual status.

Main Source: 
Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2004

Comments

Don't Ask Don't Tell has nothing to do with it

Submitted by RickMorganinMaine on December 21, 2006 - 12:20pm.

I am glad that the levels of dismissals from the military for sexual orientation has dropped, however, it should be eliminated.
The general public is not aware of the fact that it has nothing to do with telling what your sexual preference is; it has to do with someone alluding to that fact that a person is homosexual. The government will investigate any allegations of military personnel who are rumored to be gay or lesbian. What this does to the men and women who CHOOSE to defend their fellow Americans, (whether or not those fellow Americans are homophobic) is completely unjust. This policy can ruin their careers, humiliate them with their peers, and result in discharge, without them mentioning a word about their sexual oreintation. These are people who want to risk their lives to defend a country that is not willing to support and defend them. How much more patriotic can people be? "Don't Ask Don't Tell" is not only an insult, to a group of men and women willing to fight for their country, but it puts these brave men and women on the defensive before they even get to the battle field.