Chantytown

Obama wants 'don't ask' repealed - CNN.com

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Barack Obama says if elected president he won't require that his appointees to the Joint Chiefs of Staff support allowing gays to serve openly in the military.

The Democratic presidential front-runner told The Advocate, a gay magazine, that he wants to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays, which was instituted during the Clinton administration.

He said his priority for the Joint Chiefs will be that they make decisions to strengthen the military and keep the country safe, not their position on the policy.

"I would never make this a litmus test for the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Obama said in an interview with The Advocate.

"But I think there's increasing recognition within the Armed Forces that this is a counterproductive strategy," he said. Watch more of Obama's stance on Iraq »

"We're spending large sums of money to kick highly qualified gays or lesbians out of our military, some of whom possess specialties like Arab-language capabilities that we desperately need. That doesn't make us more safe."

The Advocate provided The Associated Press with excerpts of the interview, posted on its Web site Thursday.

The interview comes after Obama was criticized by gay advocates for not speaking to the gay media.

The Philadelphia Gay News last week ran a large blank space on its front page next to an interview with Sen. Hillary Clinton to highlight that he did not talk to the publication.

"The gay press may feel like I'm not giving them enough love, but basically all press feels that way at all times," Obama told The Advocate.

He said he's frequently spoken out against homophobia and in support of gay rights.

Asked what he could reasonably accomplish for the gay community as president, Obama said he can "reasonably see" repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy as well as signing legislation to ban workplace discrimination against gays.

He said he'd like transgendered people to be covered by the law, but thinks it would be tough to get such legislation through Congress.

Obama also said he's interested in ensuring that same-sex couples in civil unions get federal benefits.

babylonDon

When they kick someone out of the military for being gay, what kind of discharge do they receive?

Please do not say 'anal'.

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McCain '08: 'He'll Get Those Kids Off Your Lawn'

“Ahh, Cat Juggling. The sport of kings. Crazy, crazy kings.”- Oscar Wilde

Chantytown

From stuff that I've read (which is not much) It looks like most of the time it's a "general" discharge, but it also depends on length of service and rank.

neptune

I have two things to say, first, that's a really good question -- one would hope "honorable", but my guess would be "general".

And...eeewww!!!

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Holy Mudhead, mackerel! Morse Science High!
It's....disappeared!
-- Firesign Theatre

neptune

Yeah...well, that sucks.










"Don't forget to tip your servers!"

__________________

Holy Mudhead, mackerel! Morse Science High!
It's....disappeared!
-- Firesign Theatre

EvilMonkey

It also takes time, resources and money to manage and deal with this issue. It's just one of the reasons Obama wants it repealed. Besides you have to admit it's just a fucking dumb policy in general that is biased against sexual orientation, I don't care how you spin it.

Gay or straight everyone should have a right to equal opportunity. I'm not sure if Bill implemented this just to appeal to the conservatives or what but it's lame.

neptune

It was Clinton renegging on a campaign promise -- a "compromise" in the face of what he saw as opposition to doing what is right. Back then, he could have changed the policy by executive order--he would have been hailed as heroic in time, and the whole thing would be forgotten by now (remember how the military became racially desegregated?)

But now, this idiotic policy is enshrined in US law, and will take an act of Congress to correct.

__________________

Holy Mudhead, mackerel! Morse Science High!
It's....disappeared!
-- Firesign Theatre

ibex

By a lot of accounts in the gay press, the policy actually made things worse for gays and lesbians in the military, with the more reactionary personnel in every rank using it as a weapon to out anybody perceived as homosexual. It was a compromise on Clinton's part, just one of many that marked his administration and changed (for the worse IMHO) the image of the Dems as being as "tough" as the Republicans , meaning just as militaristic, elitist, racist and homophobic as the most Fascist wing of the GOP, now known as its mainstream.

neptune

I can completely see how it could have made things worse. I remember how things were when I was in ('76-82). 18 and 19 year olds are pumped full of macho bullshit by the whole military indoctrination, and attitudes will only change when the environment for that change is enabled by enlightened leadership.

It's a terrible, discriminatory policy, and should be repealled forthwith.

__________________

Holy Mudhead, mackerel! Morse Science High!
It's....disappeared!
-- Firesign Theatre

ibex

When I was still in high school, an acquaintance in my circle of friends who was a few years older than the rest of us and on leave talked about how "undesirables" on the aircraft carrier he where he was stationed were often tossed overboard by others and officially reported as suicides, with "undesirables" including anybody from somebody who was just disliked to somebody being perceived as gay. I know there's been a number of such incidents documented in the past ten years but I can't help but wonder how often it happened long before "Don't ask, don't tell."