Republican Presidential Candidates Support Dismissal of Lesbian & Gay Military Personnel

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Candidates Say 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy is Working

WASHINGTON, June 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- During a Tuesday evening debate on CNN, the 2008 Republican presidential candidates indicated they would maintain the federal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service personnel. Speaking in New Hampshire, many of the leading
candidates said they believed the policy "is working," in stark contrast to
remarks on Sunday by Democratic candidates, who unanimously supported
repealing the law.

"I don't think this would be the right time to raise these issues,"
former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said. Giuliani was joined by Senator
John McCain (R-AZ), who told the audience that "I think it would be a
terrific mistake to even reopen the issue. It is working, my friends. The
policy is working."

Former Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) acknowledged supporting a repeal of
the law earlier in his career, saying that, "No, actually when I first
heard of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy I thought it sounded awfully
silly and didn't think that'd be very effective, and I turned out to be
wrong." Today, however, Romney supports maintaining the ban. "It's been the
policy now in the military for, what, 10, 15 years? And it seems to be
working," he said. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) and former Governor Mike
Huckabee (R-AK) also indicated support for the law.

"If Republican leaders believe this law is working, then their
definition of 'working' is fundamentally flawed," said Sharra E. Greer,
director of law and policy for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN).
"As our military struggles to find qualified troops and our fighting forces
are stretched to a near breaking point, turning away talented and skilled
gay Americans is a detriment to our national security. Eight out of ten
Americans understand the importance of repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'
It is unfortunate that the Republican candidates for president do not. They
are out of touch with their constituents and out of step with our country's
best interests."

Since its implementation 1993, more than 11,000 service members have
been dismissed under the law, including nearly 800 with skills deemed
'mission- critical' by the Department of Defense. More than 300 language
specialists alone have been removed from the services because of "Don't
Ask, Don't Tell." The cost to taxpayers has been estimated at $363.8
million.

"To paraphrase Senator McCain," said Greer, "It is not working, my
friends. The policy is not working."


http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=ind_focus.story&STORY=/www/story/06-06-2007/0004603227&EDATE=WED+Jun+06+2007,+11:30+AM

For more information, visit http://www.sldn.org.

[Tom Joad]

1. i would support that as long as they dismissed all military people who

have engaged in any sexual activity or have even considered doing so.
Then let them try to expand U.S. empire.

[ck4829]

2. "It is working" - What's that even mean?

[Tom Joad]

3. Actually, the headline is not honest. They don't mind if Gays serve

and risk their lives... they just have to be in the closet or risk losing their career.
Doesn't sound fair to me. But i'm not a republican, and i just don't get much of their bizarre "alternative lifestyle".

[orleans]

4. mary cheney will never be able to serve. how sad. n/t

[JoePhilly]

5. Like that was EVER going to happen!!

There is no way a Cheney or a Bush will EVER server again. Gay / Straight ... don't matter.

They will be serving in "other ways" ... meaning, not in ways where one might get sent to a S#$T hole and killed because the President and VP are clueless.

They will server in other ways ... like writing books about their lives at the age of 23.

[sampsonblk]

6. The policy is working

Anyone got a better idea?

[FreeState]

8. How is it working?

How much waisted money have we spent on training people that we kick out? If the US Military was a business someone would have been fired long ago for expense reasons alone...

[Name removed]

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[bigtree]

9. How about not penalizing folks for their sexual orientation?

Why is it even an issue at all? Other countries have Gay and Lesbian troops in Iraq serving alongside of our virtually chaste forces. I'll bet our troops don't ask them to check their sexual orientation at the border before they accept their support.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

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[Swamp Rat]

7. Republican Presidential Candidates Against Equal Opportunity For All Americans

THAT is what the article title should be.

CHRISTO-FASCISTS!!!

[dsc]

10. Nothing short of amazing

We are accepting soldiers with criminal records. We are accepting soldiers with missing limits. We are accpeting soldiers with small children. We still aren't making goals so we decide not to accept otherwise perfectly good people simply because they are gay.

[Disturbed]

13. It is simply Rethugs pandering to that so called Christian RW.

Nothing new is it?

[dsc]

14. It is one thing to throw sops to right wing wackos

but to endanger our security is quite another.