You may have heard that this guy named Barack Obama (or something like that) has endorsed a compromise between lawmakers and the Defense Department on this law called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Yeah, it's a pretty big deal, but don't get too excited just yet! There are still a few more steps before gay individuals can openly serve in the US military…
It's yet to be determined whether both houses of Congress will approve the deal. Even if they do, no changes would take place until the Pentagon completes a study on the repeal's effect on the troops, which would be due by early December of this year. What do you think? Will we definitely see a repeal of the policy by the end of the year?
– Dewitt
if this country truly has the deisre to get people into its military and wants people willing to fight and possibly die for it … then it should be willing to let all of its citizens the opportunity to serve without feeling as if thye have to hide who they are … there are plenty already serving in the military and they are denying who they are because our government can’t control itself and its phobias … Barak Obama will get something in the books by at least the begining of next year
I need to read more about this compromise before commenting on it but I do have to say that I am offended (and I don’t offend easily) that you have accompanied such a serious mater with such a suggestive image. We’re gay. I love sex and I love sex with men. But does everything thing have to come down to that? EVEN on Manhunt?
Not to mention i have been reading a series called the black company, lol you stick a few gay guys in there, make sure their healthy and and the whole crew will be much happier
The cause won’t be helped by that ridiculous photo.
I think it is possible. The Prez has put his weight on it and Gates approved. It seems to be on the up and up
This place is foul. I mean, really, a blog on gay rights with that photo as the pic! You’ll end up in some bloody mainstream media report with them going “See what the sick gays do even to the concept of military?” The tragedy is, they’d be right. God this place is depressing, sometimes.
It’s funny what gets people riled up, it’s a damn pic. period. What about those little vids of actual soldiers dancing around to Ke$ha?
Considering the people on Capital Hill won’t be on the battlefield anytime soon, I say just let the actual military vote/express their views and be done with it.
I had the same reaction to the pic. It does nothing but diminish the seriousness of the matter and play into the hands of all those who oppose glbt people serving in the military. Aaron is right.
Of what I’ve read so far, it sound like more of the ‘same-old same-old” to me. . .
Another tack: as an Israeli buddy once said to me: “You know how ridiculous the US looks in this? ‘Howdy, I’m a rootin’-tootin’ fightin’ soldier in the US military until you add the gays and then I want my Mommy!'”
And that pretty much nails it.
thats nice, blame the pic and not your country (which is the only disgusting thing about this post).
I don’t see what the problem is. Here in the UK gay men and women has been allow serve in the military for over 10 years now. They are even allow to take part in Gay Pride wearing their Uniform to show everybody that Gays are welcome to join up.
The U.S is suppose to be the land of the free. For some reason I don’t see this in your great nation.
I like to hear people ridiculously comment about things they have no knowledge about. I am an active duty military soldier. I have done interviews about this subject on local news stations near my base and openly talked about this subject constantly. The honest to goodness truth is that although the DADT policy is extremely pointless…the actual policy that governs the legal decisions about gays in the military is not called the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. It is called the Homosexuals Act. All individuals that join the Uniformed Services sign this at their initial signing and swearing in to the Military. It says nothing about you not being able to join if you are gay OR even stating so. All the people in every unit I have been assigned to know about my sexuality and either chose to not associate with me or do not give a damn. I hate that people act like Homosexuals are persecuted and separated in the Military because of “DADT”. That is honestly a joke.
We may not be completely free and the military may be jerks but we still win the battles.
I do think it’s pretty crazy it’s 2010 and we still have so much work to do to be equal, maybe 2011 will get that started.
well in Canada – we blew it off with integrating without issue over 12 years ago.
I can be done. But with tolerance – you get … all right if we have to but I don’t like it.
With comprehension we get… where he puts his dick doesn’t have a thing to do with his skill level as a soldier.
To Truth or Wisdom – which says – it’s not the issue. Ignorance is the issue … it’s not a race or sexual orientation issue – it’s a sexist level of thinking based on ignorance. It will be as long in resolution as it is voted on by equally ignorant men in power called politicians.
So write, do, act up, speak up,and perhaps it may change sooner.
It’s a process. Removed from emotion.
It’s just a process. Coming out takes a lifetime, and we are here to do what we can.
Nothing more, nothing less. Fight the good fight. With knowledge and discipline – freedom is guaranteed. Never give up.
I’m an American living in the U.K I get homesick and sometimes want to go home, but stuff like this makes me sick to my stomach. I’m more free in the U.K. My gay relationship is honoured and respected by the Queen herself!
Funny..statue of Liberty in N.Y. That’s a joke..who’s that for? Hmm, a compromise on human rights….does that sound right?
The President is a black American, and I’m a black American as well. I take this even more personally because someone who should understand discrimination to the core makes a compromise…Mr. President, HOW DARE YOU.
wake up…he’s the commander in Cheif. The President can order corrective conduct by presidential order.
I have my eyes on him…so far I’m not impressed and I wont be voting for him again.He has no backbone. Hope he can change my mind!
Ummmm. DADT WAS a compromise. You cannot end it with a compromise.
Message to Manhunt: That photo is wildly inappropriate to the discussion of the repeal of DADT. I beg you. Remove it in honor of those gay soldiers who have died for our country, suffering untold pressure in the closet at the same time they went to their deaths. Do it in honor of the eight young gay Arabic language translators ejected from the military in the early stages of the Iraq fiasco. Please, for those who were injured in battle, and for those who will bear the mental and physical scars of war for the rest of their lives, remove that insulting photo immediately, and have some sense of human decency. There’s a time and a place, and a discussion of DADT is neither!
Will you stupid queens ever stop excusing away this phoney? How many times did he say over and over again he would rescind it? As Commander-in-Chief he could change Don’t ask, Don’t tell in a heart beat. But, just like Clinton, he’s sold you down the river and you’re gushing over it. Idiots.
awww… did you all fall for obama’s BS in the campaign trail? yeah, ya did.
This freaking DADT thing has become Black and White more than ever. Either you support it or you don’t. When does Mr. President stop pretending to be the Superman-who-saves-the-war and start taking a side? I cannot believe myself saying this, but at least Bush has a better decisiveness than this man.
I think the Pres. means well but he’s stuck on that bipartisan bullshit, wanting to work WITH congress and such. I think that’s whats hurting him. I read that the president can issue an Executive Order to suspend homosexual conduct discharges. Which goes back to my above point, if that’s true.
I miss Bush. He said he hated us and he did. B H Obama says he likes us but treats us the same as Bush. At least Bush was honest about it.
As long as the gay media and gay pundits suck up to the liberals, the whole community will be fuck over by the Dems. They have no reason to do anything for us because they own our votes with lies and the gay media makes their excuses. Wake up u tards, your country and your rights are more important than who wins Idol.
Oh Jesus Christ guys. Do you guys not see that this is a HUGE win for gay activists? This talk of it being a compromise is bullcrap. No matter what, even if the Dems had been gung ho about this from the beginning, the implementation of the anti-DADT law would have taken time. If Obama and the Dems had passed this in his first month in office, integration in the Army would not have occurred immediately, but several months down the line.
Obama’s strategy of biding his time on the issue has worked. Look, had he immediately pushed for repeal after his election, this effort would most likely have failed. What he did instead was get the military brass on his side. Without them against DADT, a repeal was never gonna happen.
So now that he has the military agreeing with him, he needs for the issue to ripen. And this ripening occurred thanks to the constant efforts of gay activists to keep this issue in the spotlight.
Also, there have always been plans to include the repeal of DADT w/in the Defense Authorization Bill that Congress is obligated to pass every year (and they usually pass the Defense Authorization Bill around this time of year; thus, the push for repeal coming now). Keep in mind that the Defense Authorization Bill is a MUST PASS BILL. Inserting the repeal into the legislation improves the chances of repeal.
(Although, if I’m not mistaken, the House will vote on a standalone repeal measure, while the Senate will be inserting it into the Defense Authorization Bill. Keep in mind that a standalone bill is possible in the House because the Dems have a sizable majority, and can afford to lose a few Dem votes. In the Senate, that’s not possible. Plus, Pelosi knows how to get votes.)
Btw, DADT repeal will pass. Why? Because:
1. Democratic leadership is confident that it’ll pass.
2. Polls now suggest that a majority of the country wants a repeal, and believes gays can, and should be allowed to, serve in the military.
3. The military backs a repeal. Like I said earlier, w/o the military’s support, repeal would have been impossible.
4. There is a sense of inevitability, and the issue is gaining momentum.
5. Not passing repeal means pissing off gay Democrats which means potentially losing their votes in November.
Still, that doesn’t mean our work is done. Gay activists should continue to push the White House and Congress to act until they actually do. But, I believe Pelosi when she says that repeal will happen before the end of the year. It’ll happen by August, or at the very latest, by November.
@Tret:
It is not called the Homosexuals Act.
It’s called “Policy concerning homosexuality in the armed forces”, otherwise known as 10 U.S.C. § 654.
The relevant part of this chapter:
(b) Policy.— A member of the armed forces shall be separated from the armed forces under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense if one or more of the following findings is made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in such regulations:
(1) That the member has engaged in, attempted to engage in, or solicited another to engage in a homosexual act or acts unless there are further findings, made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in such regulations, that the member has demonstrated that—
(A) such conduct is a departure from the member’s usual and customary behavior;
(B) such conduct, under all the circumstances, is unlikely to recur;
(C) such conduct was not accomplished by use of force, coercion, or intimidation;
(D) under the particular circumstances of the case, the member’s continued presence in the armed forces is consistent with the interests of the armed forces in proper discipline, good order, and morale; and
(E) the member does not have a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts.
(2) That the member has stated that he or she is a homosexual or bisexual, or words to that effect, unless there is a further finding, made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in the regulations, that the member has demonstrated that he or she is not a person who engages in, attempts to engage in, has a propensity to engage in, or intends to engage in homosexual acts.
(3) That the member has married or attempted to marry a person known to be of the same biological sex.
I’m sorry, but item 2 states that admission of homosexuality meets qualification requirements for dismissal (unless of course you haven’t and don’t have “an often intense natural inclination” to have sex…). Your soldiers may not care, and your superiors may not care, but you are in violation of United States Code and, by relation, your oath of enlistment/commissioning.
Also, if anyone was curious, DADT was enacted under Defense Directive 1304.26.
we def need a repeal, but this “compromise” isn’t it. it’s just gonna be a watered down version of DADT. when are we as gay americans, gonna stand up and fucking fight back for a change instead of being passive and letting the course of history just happen to us?
joeblow, you crack me up! LOL LOVE IT!
we are already in the military so piss off FEDS if it weren’t for us gays who serve there would be no military as the Hetero population is all about love peace an crap i served for a few years an everyone was open nobody cared who you slept with cause as long as you did your job you could do as you please. mind you i know a few NELLY HETEROS when i was in the CORPS who you swore were gay. but they weren’t back in the early 80’s there was a massive witch hunt an idiots who couldn’t hack the military would turn people in for their own benefit. so i say IF YOU ARE SO CONCERNED ABOUT WHO IS IN MY BED COME ON OVER AN JUST JUMP IN FORT HOOD TEXAS ROCKS 🙂