This is the second line in AP’s latest article on DADT:
Will straight and gay troops have to shower next to one another?
Everything you need to know about how hard the Pentagon is trying to undermine repeal is summed up in that question. And, it surely indicates that the forces opposed to repeal are pulling out all the stops. It also means that “separate, but equal” isn’t off the table.
If you want to hear all the talking points from opponents of repeal, read this article in full. Because basically all their arguments are laid out. For example:
If the military lifts the ban suddenly, would there be attacks on gays? Would religious parents, coaches and teachers who oppose gay rights persuade young recruits not to enlist? If a platoon member says he is gay, would his comrades still support him, or would there be infighting?
Conway, the Marine Corps commandant, claims, by his own informal survey of the force, some 90 to 95 percent oppose letting gays serve openly.
“We recruit a certain type of young American, pretty macho guy or gal, that is willing to go fight and perhaps die for their country,” he said.
There is a voice of reason:
“If your commander-in-chief says this is the new law, then that’s the way we follow it and we make it work,” said David Hall, a former Air Force staff sergeant who was discharged under the 1993 Clinton-era policy.
That’s the way it’s supposed to happen. Instead of fighting repeal, military leaders should be making it work. And, their Commander-in-Chief needs to lay down the law with them.
