Gay Service Members Ponder Military Policy

[leftchick]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/don_t_ask_don_t_tell


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Hughes, 26, left the Army last month in part because of his frustration with the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which allows homosexuals to serve so long as they do not disclose their sexual orientation and do not engage in homosexual acts.


Now enrolled at Yale University, Hughes said the policy forced him to lie to other members of his unit, who frequently bragged about their sexual exploits. Hughes said he found himself substituting "she" for "he" in stories so he could join in conversations.


"It hurt. I was lying to those people," he said. "I eventually withdrew and became quite anti-social because I didn't want to deal with it anymore."


Hughes is one of 30 homosexual servicemen and servicewomen profiled in an unscientific survey released earlier this month about the impact of "don't ask, don't tell" on gay soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan