Gays in the military?

Good question. I don't know why there is such controversy. Gay people exist and they work in all professions and occupations, and why would the military be any different? They're soldiers, not a social group.

There are several reasons. The primary being that the military was using DADT as an excuse through what in civilian life would be illegal searches in discovery of a person's sexuality to implement dishonorable discharge.

Due to an injury, I never got in, but if I did, I'd sure as hell hate to be discharged because I forgot to log off a laptop in my home or someone traced me.

Pretty simple. What happens between consenting adults behind closed doors is their business, not the employers. And when you think about it, the military is an employer. And dishonorable discharge is a pretty heavy price to pay in lost rights just because you went to the Gay.Com site, didn't harass anyone didn't make anyone uncomfortable, etc.

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It's not a matter of saying, "Hey Everyone! I'm gay!". It's the fact that they can't be open AT ALL for fear of being kicked out of the military

It's blatant discrimination. Plus, see all other Western nations where gays and lesbians serve openly and there are no problems. Also, compare the arguments at banning gays from serving openly to African Americans being allowed in the military: they are essentially the same arguments

DADT just shows the rampant homophobia still prevalent in this country

It is not a matter of being identified as gay, it is more of a matter of not having to hide certain parts of your life while serving in the military. For instance, any heterosexual person in the military can be open about their boyfriends adn girlfriends and be seen kissing them when they are there to greet them in the barracks for a visit or leave. Any homosexual soldier cannot have this out in the open. If any male soldier and female soldier wants to date or become intimate, they can do so wth the knowledge of their fellow soldiers, same sex soldiers cannot and they have to be very careful and strategic to hide this....and they have to lie when questioned about it. What a horrible way to live.

Nobody is saying we want to be identified. Our argument is that what we do in our private lives (who we decide to love & have sex with) has NO BEARING on our ability to defend this country.

Some people say Don't Ask Don't Tell allowed gays to be in the military. I think that's a crock. Simply because of a little simple question: "Whom did you leave to join the military?" It's perfectly fine for a straight guy to say "I left my wife & kids."; yet a gay guy COULD NOT say "I left behind my husband/boyfriend".

On a site I frequent, we have a politics board & 1 person says he has no trouble with gays in the military, but he couldn't sleep with nor share a bathroom with (showering, etc.) with a homosexual. I simply asked him why should we have a separate barracks for gays? Next somebody's going to want a separate barracks because of somebody's race, their age, if they're from the South or the North, etc.....WHERE would it stop?

The problem isn't that you can't wear rainbow accessories or scream "GAY PRIDE!!!" every time you take out an enemy it's the fact that you have to hide it. A gay man can't talk about his husband and his kids like a straight man can talk about his wife and kids. They have to hide it. They go to extreme lengths to keep a secret concealed to the point where it's down right exhausting. You live in fear that you'll be fired by accidentally saying "my boyfriend or this guys hot" while being a man. You have to hide this secret and it just eats at you and eats at you. It makes you depressed and sick. You can't share our personal life or tell how you spent your Saturday night celebrating your boyfriends birthday party. You become out casted because you won't let anyone in on who you are and you keep your personal life to your self. That is why.

You shouldn't have to hide yourself in any job, but you also shouldn't have to go screaming down the halls that you have "X" sexuality (which I'm sure most of us LGBT would never do, or anyone for that matter). I hope that one day either DADT is made for everyone, regardless of sexuality, or it's gotten rid of completely. Though, I did hear of one lady who was fired from the military because police went to her home, saw her marriage certificate or something and saw she had a wife, even though she never said anything about it, which is why I hope they get rid of DADT all together.

I don't think it's about identification. It's about injustice.

Say you're a gay male and you want to write to your partner. If you do and someone finds out, then you're exposed as gay and can be kicked out. Even though you're serving your country like everyone else. That's where the problem is.

You would've been right if you noticed how you said that someone isn't required to be openly gay. Well, you don't have to be open about your sexuality but if you want to be open about your taste then that's still your right and they shouldn't be forced to keep that silent to everyone else while heterosexual people get to say what they want.

its a job. there should be no difference between civilian and military life. how well i do my job isn't based on my sexual orientation anywhere else, and the military should not be looked at as being "better" than any other employer.