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| Sen. Levin asked to hold off on hearing to repeal 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy |
| 2010-01-26 |
| The White House has asked the top Senate Democrat on military affairs to postpone announcing a hearing that would explore repealing the controversial law that bans openly gay people from serving in the military. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was expected to have Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen testify before his committee on recent calls to end the “Don't ask, don't tell' policy. The hearing was expected at the end of January. Sources tell The Hill that even though it has not been announced publicly, the target date was Jan. 28, one day after the State of the Union address. But that would have required public notice ahead of the hearing. Now the target date is expected to be Feb. 11, a source said. Levin was told to hold off on announcing the hearing until after the president's address Wednesday, according to a Senate aide. Levin was also told that Obama will address the issue of “Don't ask, don't tell' in his speech on Wednesday, but Levin does not know what's in the speech, the aide added. Levin also mentioned this in a huddle with reporters on Monday. A source familiar with some details of the initial draft of the State of the Union said it would address the repeal of the controversial law. Obama has made it his campaign promise to repeal the Clinton-era law. Obama has come under increasing pressure from gay-rights advocates to move on the repeal. Gay-rights advocates are eyeing the change in law for this year, but it is unclear how Obama will proceed. The Pentagon has moved slowly on the issue, and there have been reports of internal dissent on how fast changes to the law should be instituted. Levin has always opposed “Don't ask, don't tell,' and has said publicly he supports the repeal. Meanwhile, his House counterpart, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), said he opposes the repeal. Skelton played a major role in crafting the controversial law. When President Bill Clinton wanted to lift the ban preventing gay people from joining the military, Skelton opposed the move. The end result was a compromise under which gay service members would have to conceal their sexual orientation. “Servicemembers Legal Defense Network encourages the president to address the repeal of ‘Don't ask don't tell' and share his plan with the American people,' said Aubrey Sarvis, the executive director of SLDN, the organization at the forefront of the repeal fight. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #6 I've known people in the military that were gay. EVERYONE knew it, and almost everyone ignored it. They were good at their job, they didn't exhibit their differences to the detriment of the military or their job, and they didn't flaunt their differences. It was a "live and let live" environment, and everyone contributed. The only two times I've seen or heard of gays being kicked out of the military is when they violated the unwritten code: -we don't care as long as you're not overly obvious about your behavior". One was kicked out with a Bad Conduct Discharge (there were some other things involved that upgraded it that far), the other was politely asked NOT to re-enlist, and got an Honorable Discharge. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2010-01-26 21:55 |
| #5 So how many current boyfriends does Levin have? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2010-01-26 20:17 |
| #4 I spent 29 years in the military 6 in USMC, USMCR, 23 in the Army and Army Guard. 22 of the 29 was on some form of active duty. I've had numerous obviously gay subordinates, peers, and in one case, superiors. Only once did any of them by word, deed or social behavior, make it obvious or significant, and never duty business hours. DADTDC makes perfect sense. BUT... if flagrantly obviously behavior becomes an obstruction to good order and discipline, the existing system gives Commanders the tools necessary to remove the individual for the good of the service. No change is needed, and absent those tools, certain kinds of behaviors have the potential to emerge that adversely affect combat readiness, unit morale and cohension. The military isn't a go**am laboratory for people's sociology opinions. Leave it alone so we can continue to have the finest forces in the world! |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2010-01-26 18:05 |
| #3 I retired 10 years ago and I can't think of a single reason you need to discuss your sexual preferences at work. DADTDC |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2010-01-26 15:36 |
| #2 So - he's not supposed to ask about "DADT"? |
| Posted by: mojo 2010-01-26 14:20 |
| #1 The basic problem is that the policy "don't ask, don't tell" is made by older people. Unfortunately young men, and I suspect young women, do not know about or appreciate the finer points of "don't tell". I think that we should change the policy to "don't ask, don't tell, don't care" and let the folks involved sort it out. |
| Posted by: Kelly 2010-01-26 12:50 |