White House Approves Of Faster Track For Repeal Of Ban On Gays In Military

Late night, Michael? Still amped up after watching “24”? As for DADT, why doesn’t Obama simply issue an Executive Order or similar military order as CinC declaring DADT over at once, period? And that any generals objecting are dismissed immediately? Then again, square’s comment #3 at your oil spill post probably answers this, but I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Why make it an Executive Order when it could be a legislative victory grounded in the results of an already underway military report?

deconstructiva: It would be nice if Obama could do the executive order. However, the next President could undo his order. It needs to be done legislatively. Also, the wailing right wing banshees would start foaming at the mouth if the change was done by executive order.

I agree with apr2663.
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Let the Congress deal with this issue. An EO can be thrown away by the next president.
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As someone about to (hopefully be to deemed worthy to) join the USMC officer ranks, I would be proud to have ANYONE under my command that followed orders and refused to discriminate against others based on race or sexual orientation, but was willing to follow orders given by myself and my higher ranking officers. Further, if the person who was gay/lesbian/bi/tansgender proved them-self to be loyal and of good service to the unit I would defend them to my fullest extent within and outside the unit (I would NOT disavow them except based incidence of cowardice or other conduct unbecoming.)
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I do understand the military’s avoidance of gays and lesbians due the “are you looking at my junk” type of thing in the showers.
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However you do NOT have a right to not be “uncomfortable” with something in these United States.

Executive orders can be easily reversed — just witness the back and forth over the global gag rule — but a legislative change is much, much harder to undo.

Yes he could do an Executive Order. And the reason he is not is not because he is worried about future Presidents. He is worried about his next term. An executive order would be quick and the Congress could codify it anytime thereafter.

Obama ran on some primary issues two of them being on reversing DADT and immigration reform He has ignored them and is now trying to get it done without his hands being dirtied. A real profile in courage.

Rome burns and it is covered in oil, and we are worried about DADT. Yup… that makes sense.

Oh no, it sounds like Obama has lost freeinpa’s support.

I guess the military and sports locker rooms are the only areas where you have to worry about cooties from gay people

…otherwise the right thing would’ve been done a long time ago.

Don’t sweat it rustyblogwhore, the magical hand of the free market will take care of BP’s massive and ongoing oil spill. You wouldn’t want government getting in their way.

Unlike the previous president, this one can juggle several balls in the air at one time. In the name of good taste, please don’t take that last sentence literally.

If Rome’s burning, that should take care of all the oil covering it.

RE 1.4: And in other news, the sun rose in the east.

Congrats, Sasquatch.

Amazing how free is for something free is against. If Onbama doesn’t act he is Nazi if he does he is a Socialist, or whatever.

If you know any military folks who are suffering emotionally because of DADT policies, then you have probably learned that (a) we should not let the people who devoted their lives to America to be alienated from her unnecessarily, (b) we should not let people with guns become emotionally frustrated, and (c) it’s not like they’re “telling” major state secrets – to the contrary, they’re just “telling” about their relationships.

My medium is video, and this one summarizes, at least for me, summarizes the absurdity of allowing any form a communication gap to exist in the military (of all places).

http://bit.ly/9YNli3

Let Congress make the repeal official once and for all.

kevin, nflblowhard and all

The 3 stooges make 3 comments without a single thought,. No surprise there.

I for before I am against what? And you base it on what?

Proving liberal thought is an oxymoron.

“However you do NOT have a right to not be “uncomfortable” with something in these United States.”

This certainly explains the left’s infatuation with all sorts of speech codes and other politically correct nonsense.

“Unlike the previous president, this one can juggle several balls in the air at one time.”

Great we elected a circus act.

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“If Rome’s burning, that should take care of all the oil covering it”

That was one of the solutions that came out of Obama’s administration and yet untried.

You’re right. Let’s make this solution permanent.

Congressional action is needed to make the repeal permanent because it began as part of a law. The Executive Order was inserted into the law to improve it a bit, but that can be changed at any time. Just get on with getting rid of it permanently – this will do that.

The DADT policy modified the gay ban clause added by House Armed Services Chairman Ron Dellums (D-CA) to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 Pub.L. 103-160 (10 U.S.C. § 654). Dellum’s addition was itself largely derived from Defense Directive 1332.14 Department of Defense Directive 1332.14, issued by President Ronald Reagan in 1982. The defense authorization bill with the gay ban language passed Congress mid-1993 and was signed by President Clinton later that year converting Reagan’s gay ban policy into federal law.

A month after signing the defense authorization bill, President Clinton issued Defense Directive 1304.26 — the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which modified the absolute ban.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_ask,_don't_tell

From the post on economics on Friday, my favorite freepina quote, “I snore bizarre”.
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It must keep your wife awake if you snore bizarrely… loud?
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Sleep apnia?
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A deviated septum?
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Freepina, nobody knows WTF you are trying to say half of the time, and the other half of the time, nobody cares.

To be frank, when this discussion came up in 1995 I did not think that I would ever consider joining the armed forces (but later did consider it) and did not, at age twenty four, think that allowing gays in the military was a good idea.
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Once it became obvious to me that thousands of military veterans came out of the closet, I discovered what the ban on gays in reality was: if you’re gay, lie a lot.
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Then came, classic third way DADT and many other countries dropped their bans gays serving finding no change whatsoever in their morale, etc, etc.
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Now it is obvious; gays are in the military, gays were in the military change the laws or not gays will continue to be in the military, so, just be out in the open about it already.

freeper’s deep thoughts: “So’s your old man”, “Your mother wore army boots”, “HAHAHAHAHA”. Always enlightening.

Best to you sasquatch08!

newrusty: Discrimination has to be addressed when it is active not when it is convenient.

“I would be proud to have ANYONE under my command that followed orders and refused to discriminate against others based on race or sexual orientation, but was willing to follow orders given by myself and my higher ranking officers.”
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You have a very enlightened attitude and, as I said below, I did not feel that way until I was a few years older than you are.
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I can blame it on the era that the 1980s into the early 1990s was not as tolerant of gays, the fact that I only met a few in my college years and none before, but, in reality, you, as a young man, know where it’s at: serve honorably, fight bravely and what happens during leave is nobody else’s problem.

Among the innumerable historical facts that conservatives almost always miss is that, prior to World War One, the US Armed forces had no ban on gays serving.
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So, the Spanish American War with Teddy Roosevelt as General, the Civil War on both sides, the Mexican-American War, the War of 1812 and the revolutionary war had gay soldiers in the ranks and even the officer class.
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Yet, we won those wars and did not suffer from low morale problems due to gays serving in uniform.
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If we win the wars, we have morale in tact and maintain order in the ranks, who looses?

“Freepina, nobody knows WTF you are trying to say half of the time, and the other half of the time, nobody cares.”

I am up 50% on both sides to you. Its 100% you are wrong and 100% nobody cares. But keep trying Rev Jim.

A lot of our allies in Iraq and Afganistan got over this hang-up a long time ago and I guess it still allows them to have an army. Maybe their troops should just go home until the US military grows up.

Just a thought, but I wonder if gays serving openly in the military will have an effect on the gay marriage issue? You would think that an argument could be made that if gays/lesbians can fight and die for their country, it’s un-American to not allow these patriots to marry the person of their choice.

If 18 year olds serving can drink on the base legally while all 50 states limit everybody else to 21 due to 18 years serving in the military…
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Maybe they will only let gays marry if they are in the service.
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Good point, Sacred.

“But keep trying Rev Jim.”
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I wasn’t sure what you meant by that until I looked it up.
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That was from the show Taxi. That went off the air when I was a child.
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He was a stoner.
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Clearly you know nothing about me.
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That is so unlike me in every way.
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I am mistaken frequently for one of three professions: attorney, police detective and stock broker.