With the repeal of DADT a distinct probability, is anyone surprised?

no...i'm not at all surprised.....and since i ran around the capitol building for the last three months slipping testosterone in all the democrats coffee, i'm not even surprised that they developed a pair in time to do it before the bigots <republicans> take charge of the house.

much love and hope. pj

robert didn't learn very much in his four short years in the military. if he'd been awake for somewhere around half that time he'd have learned enough to know that the rant he just went on is stupid beyond belief....but, that's the typical <bigoted> republican party line....put together by such intellectual giants as rush limbaugh and glen beck.

As a counter, is it any surprise that anyone who agrees with DADT is accused of being a homophobe?

From an Army perspective havings served 4 years in 3 countries, open homosexuality disrupts unit cohesion. This isn't about morals or fairness, it's about the logistics of war.

Consider the sort of individual that joins the Army. We have a mix of the super-patriotic, the dregs of society one step above vagrancy and jail, the religious fanatics (Oh don't get me started on the hyper-Christians eager to go kill heathens), the gullible and those who simply aren't cut out for anything in the civilian world. The term "open minded" is an insult in the Army, because "Hooah" is the sound of an open mind slamming shut. Most of these people will not change their minds about homosexuality, no matter how many Equal Oportunity Power Point slides you show them.

A frequently raised objection is the barracks situation. If you have sixty male soldiers sharing one shower area, and you allow homosexuals to serve openly, should we also have the men shower with the women? Or perhaps we should have the gay men shower with the women and the gay women shower with the men. It is an issue that no number of Equal Opportunity Power Point slides will get rid of. In the military you frequently share very close quarters, and sexual tensions can run high. Males and females sleep in separate areas for a reason, and open homosexuality makes the barracks a no-win situation for the person in charge.

Sexual tension aside, consider the mission that the Army does. If you're the Sergeant of a unit, and you say "Private Joe, go clear that room." Private Joe goes into the room and gets shot. Private Joe was gay. His family files a lawsuit claiming you sent him into danger because he was gay, even though you did it because you knew Private Joe was your best room clearer and had a solid record of room clears. The lawsuit gathers immense media attention, and your career in the military is effectively over. You won't get promoted while there's this allegation over your head, you won't get any awards and you'll be relegated to some menial desk job while the media frenzy ensues. Even once the trial court finds you not guilty because you were lucky enough to keep careful performance records and could show that Private Joe was your best room clearer... your career is in shambles and will never recover. If you had been like most and didn't keep those precise performance records, you'd probably be kicked out of the Army with an "Under other than honorable conditions" discharge. Open homosexuality would mean fewer soldiers seeking leadership positions, because that much extra liability isn't worth the extra pay.

Other issues that have been raised in this subject is that homosexuals have the 'right' to serve their country openly. That's not true. Being openly homosexual is a 'human right' and a 'civil right'. When you join the military, you no longer have civil rights... or even human rights; you give those up to defend the rights of others, among which is the right to be openly homosexual. Soldiers don't have freedom of speech/religion/assembly, can be compelled to testify against themselves, can be searched and property seized for no reason, etc.

Of significance to point out: The number of people discharged from the military for homosexuality has dropped for seven of the past nine years, with one third as many people discharged in 2009 as 2000. Proof: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_ask,_don't_tell... .

Yes, and next pedophiles, arsonists, bestiality, ETC. after all they too claim they "Were born that way" and just want to proudly serve their country.

No. It is as much a political as it is homophobia thing.