In the fight to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the argument of the lgbt community has been consistent.
Sexual orientation should not be used a criteria to keep people from serving their country. Lgbts can and have served in the military admirably and should not have to lie to continue to do so.
Now on the other side of the fence, the arguments of those who want to keep DADT (or keep lgbts out of the military altogether) have ranged from distortions to downright outrageous lies.
Let's look at the top five:
5. Gays will go "rape crazy" on military men - This year,
discredited researcher Paul Cameron actually had the audacity to come out with a "study" claiming that gays are four to seven more times likely to rape their fellow servicemen. He even says that some perpetrators of heterosexual sex assaults can be termed as gay because apparently some gay men "like women too."
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, while saying nothing about Cameron's phony study, actually
echoed its main points:
Our military exists to fight and win wars, not engage in radical social engineering. Forcing soldiers to cohabit with people who view them as sexual objects would inevitably lead to increased sexual tension, sexual harassment, and even sexual assault.
4. Heterosexuals will abandon the military if DADT is repealed - Last year,
The Military Times came out with a survey claiming that a majority of respondents (58%) said they opposed openly gay service and 10% said they would not re-enlist if the ban was lifted. However, the Palm Center and Gary Langer who headed polling for ABC News skewered the survey for numerous errors.
Robert Knight of the right-wing Coral Ridge Ministries earlier this year
said the following:
" . . .25 percent of people in the military have said they'll either resign or they wouldn't re-enlist. It would hurt recruitment because the military draws from traditional populations that have very traditional values. It would hurt unit cohesion."
However, it was discovered that the poll he was citing was
nonexistent. Knight's claim
originated from a quote by
World Net Daily writer Mychal Massie.
World Net Daily is a publication not necessarily know for its credibility. Amongst other things, it pushes the belief that President Obama is not a United States citizen.
3. Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal will lead to the draft, forced abortions, pansexual cross-dressing, forced abortions - Robert Knight again:
Forcing open homosexuality on the armed forces would destroy the volunteer military and bring back the compulsory draft. Since women are now deployed close to combat, and the only legal reason they are not eligible is their combat exemption, a new draft could include our daughters. And some would face pressure to have on-base abortions in order to complete their tours of duty.
Chaplains would be the first victims of Mr. Obama's homosexualization of the military, followed by anyone who violated "zero tolerance" policies for homosexual acceptance. Bible-believing Christians would quickly find themselves unwelcome in Barney Frank's new pansexual, cross-dressing military.
Other fallout includes family housing, reduction in retention, recruitment and unit cohesion, an increase in homosexual sexual assaults and a boost to overturning the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
Can you believe that? He forgot the wanton cannibalism.
2. Gays in the military will lead to increased diseases - Earlier this year, a right-wing group, America's Survival, put out a video claiming that gays serving openly in the military will lead to an increase in diseases like AIDS. The video was so offensive that it was removed from youtube.
America's Survival is led by Cliff Kincaid, head of the right-wing group Accuracy In Media. Kincaid and AIM has a long history of smearing the gay community.
Earlier this year, AIM
was forced to retract a story on its web page which inaccurately accused Obama appointee Kevin Jennings of being a pedophile.
And Kincaid is probably one of the only few people in this country who
openly defends Uganda's anti-gay bill including the part about the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality."
Now what can top all of these ridiculous reasons? This one by the Traditional Values Coalition:
1. The repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell will lead to "sodomy on the battlefield" and sex parties:
Imagine the impact that the rampant spread of STDs, including HIV would have on the military? How will the military handle the spread of these diseases in the barracks? How will the military handle sodomy in battlefield situations? . . . what about the unrestrained drug and sex antics committed by young male homosexuals?
The reasons for repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell are good enough to stand on their own. But the claims of the opposition add credibility to these reasons simply because they are totally unprovable, illogical, and add nothing to the argument. They mainly come from a desire to exploit fear and ignorance. And a place of desperation.
Fear, ignorance, and desperation are qualities which have never had a place in our Armed Forces. And they don't deserve to be accommodated now.
But those who have served admirably and will continue to do so, regardless of sexual orientation, should be allowed in through the front door.
