'Don't ask' foes should surrender
Sen. John McCain of Arizona speaks on Capitol Hill in Thursday against repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell'' law. Credit: AP
Supporters of "don't ask, don't tell" have been reduced to fighting to postpone the inevitable because they're defending the indefensible. The 1993 policy barring gay people from serving openly in the military is a discriminatory anachronism that Congress should scrap now, before the courts do it.
That's the view of the commander in chief, the secretary of defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a growing majority of the public. In a delaying action Friday, the heads of the Marines and Air Force cited concerns about unit cohesion and combat effectiveness and urged Congress to delay repeal until 2012.
A Pentagon survey released Dec. 1 undercut that argument. Seven in 10 service members predicted that having an openly gay person in their unit would have a positive, mixed or no effect on their ability to work together to get the job done.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), discounted the survey because service members weren't asked if they favored repeal. That's ludicrous. The rank and file have never been allowed to dictate military policy. It didn't happen when blacks or women were integrated into the service and it shouldn't now.
The military will adapt to openly gay people in its ranks. Those who insist it won't are selling our fighting men and women short. hN
