Don't Ask..Don't Tell-reviewed in Congress today

Below is an article about Congress reviewing the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy which was a bad policy to start. I recently read some other statistics in another article which I thought fits right in with the way our government runs things. Last year, the Army gave moral waivers to 106 applicants convicted of burglary, 15 of felonious break-ins, 11 of grand-theft-auto, and 8 of arson. It also admitted five rape/sexual-assault convicts, two felony child molesters, two manslaughter convicts, and two felons condemned for “terrorist threats including bomb threats.”

“The Army seems to be lowering standards in training to accommodate lower-quality recruits,” RAND Corporation researcher Beth Asch observed at a May 12 Heritage Foundation defense-policy seminar in Colorado Springs.

Conversely, expelled military personnel include Arabic linguists and intelligence specialists who help crush America’s foes in the War on Terror. “Don’t Ask” has ousted at least 58 soldiers who speak Arabic, 50 Korean, 42 Russian, 20 Chinese, nine Farsi, and eight Serbo-Croatian — all trained at the prestigious Defense Language Institute. Al-Qaeda intercepts need translation, and Uncle Sam may need people who can walk around Tehran with open ears. Yet these dedicated gay citizens now are ex-GIs.

Under “Don’t Ask,” the Pentagon reported in February 2005, only one percent of gays were sacked for pursuing or achieving same-sex marriage. Just 16 percent were dismissed for seeking or performing gay sex. Fully 83 percent of those fired between 1994 and 2003 merely stated their gay or bisexual status.

In March 2007 the Navy discharged Petty Officer Stephen Benjamin, an Arabic cryptologic interpreter. Supervisors investigated him when a message he transmitted said, “That was so gay — the good gay, not the bad one.” He also mentioned his social life, thus exposing his homosexuality. Now I ask you, would you sleep better knowing the guy next to you was convicted of a crime or if he was gay? Below is the article about the review which is supposed to happen today.

Kris Alingod - AHN News Writer
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on whether to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" on Wednesday. It will be the first congressional review of the controversial policy since it was adopted in 1993.

No Pentagon officials are scheduled to appear during the hearing, and the bill repealing the policy is not expected to be passed any time soon. But opponents of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" say they plan to ride on the current change in perceptions about homosexuals in order to repeal the law under a new administration.

"We're fighting two wars and we have an overstretched military. We have too many people that are on their third, fourth and fifth tours in Iraq or Afghanistan," Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) told Fox on Tuesday. "It is a time when we have a president that will sign a legislation and we don't have one now." Tauscher is the main author of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, a measure seeking to abolish "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" by allowing homosexuals to serve freely in the armed forces. Tauscher supports Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), who has vowed to repeal the law if he becomes president.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a decorated Vietnam War veteran and former POW, supports the Pentagon's position that the law should be kept.

However, Military Personnel Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) also said during a conference call that she "want[s] to start a conversation" that will fuel more debate on the issue, according to Politico.

A Washington Post poll found earlier this month that 75% of Americans favor homosexuals serving in the military, up from 44% in 1993.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is a law prohibiting homosexuals and bisexuals from disclosing their sexual orientation while serving in the military. It was passed by a Democratic Congress under former President Bill Clinton, despite strong opposition from civil rights groups. About 12,000 military personnel have been discharged because of homosexuality since the policy was enacted 15 years ago.