Boehner Thinks Gay Soldiers are Un-American, aren't People

by: Richard Allen Smith

Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 09:55:08 AM EST


"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is a policy that removes brave, qualified American servicemembers from their jobs in service to their country.  It would appear that House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) thinks that gays who have served their country and been removed from service are either not people, or are un-American:

Boehner predicted that any action on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" would lead to a "divisive debate" and "do nothing more than distract the real debate that should occur here about helping to get our economy going again and getting American people back to work."

Repealing DADT would allow qualified gay troops who have been discharged as a result of the failed, discriminatory policy to return to work.  It would also allow qualified gay Americans who have heard the call to service in uniform to serve their country without sacrificing their integrity.

As best I can tell, either John Boehner doesn't really want Americans to have jobs in a field in which they are qualified to serve, he doesn't think gays are real Americans, or he doesn't think they are people.

What the Minority Leader fails to realize, however, is that there is nothing more American than the fight against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".  Gay Americans want nothing more than  to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, as the saying goes. That's why they are fighting this discriminatory policy, which places no faith in the professionalism of our military. Indeed, nothing is more American than going out and fighting for the job you want, or seeking to right an injustice that prevents the best person qualified for a job from getting it. Nothing is more American than insuring our national security is preserved to its fullest measure, rather than cowering behind irrational fears.  Gays are fighting against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" because as patriotic Americans, there is nothing else they could do.  And that's why, as patriotic Americans, we must fight to end this deplorable policy as well. It's not a "gay" fight. It's an American fight.
Richard Allen Smith :: Boehner Thinks Gay Soldiers are Un-American, aren't People
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Boehner Thinks Gay Soldiers are Un-American, aren't People | 3 comments
'don't ask, don't tell' (0.00 / 0)
Pentagon leaders set to testify on 'don't ask, don't tell'

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen will testify Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy......>>>>>


'Hearts and Minds, "The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live there." -- President Lyndon Johnson
I've posted this before, but it is applicable here as well (0.00 / 0)
There is a fiscal side to DADT as well:

# Since its inception in 1994, the "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" policy has cost the military between $290 million to more than a half a billion dollars.

# The military spends an estimated $22,000 to $43,000 per person to replace those discharged under DADT.  

"No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they're carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they've provided." - Barack Obama

Wisdom from MLK (4.00 / 2)
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

For those who want to hold other people down, NOW is never a good time.

Boehner Thinks Gay Soldiers are Un-American, aren't People | 3 comments
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