US Senate Votes On DADT Today

Don't ask, don't tell (DADT) is the term commonly used for the policy restricting the United States military from efforts to discover or reveal closeted gay, lesbian, and bisexual servicemembers or applicants, while barring those who are openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual from military service. The restrictions are mandated by federal law.

The policy prohibits people who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the armed forces of the United States, because their presence "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability."  The act prohibits any homosexual or bisexual person from disclosing his or her sexual orientation or from speaking about any homosexual relationships, including marriages or other familial attributes, while serving in the United States armed forces.

The act specifies that service members who disclose they are homosexual or engage in homosexual conduct shall be separated (discharged) except when a service member's conduct was "for the purpose of avoiding or terminating military service" or when it "would not be in the best interest of the armed forces".

As it exists, DADT specifies that the "don't ask" part of the policy indicates that superiors should not initiate investigation of a servicemember's orientation in the absence of disallowed behaviors, though credible and articulable evidence of homosexual behavior may cause an investigation. Violations of this aspect through unauthorized investigations and harassment of suspected servicemen and women resulted in the policy's current formulation as "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue, don't harass."

All the above is from Wikipedia.

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Repealing the DADT has the support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest leaders of the armed forces of the United States of America.

According to a comprehensive survey made among the servicemen and women, they overwhelmingly support the repeal. They do not see any real problems with fighting, dying, sleeping or showering next to openly gay servicemembers.

The repeal of DADT has already been passed by the House of Representatives and it is hoped that the Senate will do so today also. To pass the law repealing DADT the support of 60 or more of the 100 US senators is needed. It is also believed that if the Senate doesn´t pass the law today there will be no chance that a repeal will get the support of the new Congress that convenes next year.

However any of you may feel about the American Armed forces and their actions around the world, this piece of blatantly homophobic legislation needs to be repealed so that openly Gay servicemen and women earn the right to fight and die for their country.