Gay Ban Repealed

AP – Cassandra Melnikow, foreground left, and her sister Victoria Melnikow, right, sit in New York's Times …

While President Barack Obama this week is expected to clear the way for gays to serve openly in the military, the new law won't go into effect immediately and unanswered questions remain: How soon will the new policy be implemented, will it be accepted by the troops and could it hamper the military in Afghanistan and Iraq?


The historic action by Congress repeals the requirement, known as "don't ask, don't tell," that for the last 17 years has allowed gays and lesbians to serve, but only if they kept quiet about their sexual orientation. Ending that policy has been compared in its social implications to President Harry S. Truman's 1948 executive order that brought racial equality to the military.

Okay, so I have a friend on Facebook, that I've known for years. I love her dearly but, her status was something to effect that people who think it's not okay to serve openly need to "get a life," it's okay that we ask them to die for us but, it's not okay they serve openly, Jesus says to be nice, ect. You get the idea.

That sort of statement is easy, isn't it? It's really easy to say that others need to get a life but, what I want to know is, why is this an issue? According to The Urban Institute, it is estimated that 2.8 percent of men and women serving in the military are gay/lesbian. 2.8 percent. This is pretty much equivalent to the amount of gays in the general population. (Depending on your source, it's estimated at 2-5 percent). Can someone tell me why 2.8 percent is so important that it has to force their ideas and disrupt the whole?

The military is known for their strong support of families and their proper structure. Gay people wouldn't be here if there wasn't a man and a women involved in their creation. No matter what you think of gays or lesbians, from a strictly scientific observation- biology dictates that it is not a desirable condition for the human species. Humans procreate through heterosexual sex. That's not something mean or evil to say; it's just the truth.

I want to know --why don't these other people get a life? We're talking about 2.8 percent of people. Many of these people are not on the front lines. They are working behind a desk, and going to school. The people on the front lines have already weighed in. They don't want gays openly serving. Shouldn't it be up to those who it effects the most to determine this policy? Why are we worried about the smallest of the smallest minority pushing something that many folks see as incredibly immoral?

Now, I'm not trying to belittle anyone's service. I'm simply pointing out that the jobs many of them do are not those where this policy would cause much of a disruption. However, the policy does effect the whole.

So, logically you will say, "Well, if gays are not mostly on the front lines, where you claim it will effect the most, then this policy will not cause much of an overall effect, like you are claiming."

To which I will respond that, I did not claim gays do not serve on the front lines, I am saying that from what we KNOW (which we don't know everything yet because they are not openly serving), gays MOSTLY serve in positions that are not in areas where this policy will have the most effect but, the areas that gays ARE serving in where it will have an effect, it will disrupt the whole-- there will be a disturbance.

Again, many military families are traditional. This comes from deep-rooted Christian values. Let us look at military housing. This is housing that is all located in one area, where everyone around is serving in the military. Children of military members grow up in these areas. We are now going to be asking families to have to deal with explaining alternative lifestyles to their children. How are they supposed to instill their moral values, while at the same time telling their children that the government supports homosexuality? Many of these people joined the military to get away from the PC climate that currently shadows our country. Now, there will be almost nowhere for anyone to run and be in a conservative, traditional community.

Why can't these 2.8 percent of people understand that it's not all about them and their need to announce their sexual identity? There are people in this world who believe that it is a sin to be gay, and that it is immoral. You cannot disregard their beliefs because, 2.8 percent of people have a problem with it. Why is it the minority is so desperate in ignoring the reality of so many things, in order to push what they think sounds good or, feels good?

Yes, I think we all can agree that it's truly easy to look at this and just say, "Oh, please, get a life, it's not a big deal." On one hand, I can understand that sentiment. However, like most things, when you dig deep, start asking real probing questions, truly understand the effects of various acts, and remain honest about the reality of situations, you have to come to the conclusion that many times it can be a "big deal."