This must be stopped, post haste. Over 85 percent of our servicemen have made it clear that they do not wish to serve with openly gay individuals.
We have a far left extremist judge, who on her own volition, has decided to "modify/halt/make" military policy? What is wrong with this picture? What in the Hell is wrong with our Nation! Wake Up America!! On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 7:56 PM, Tommy News <[email protected]> wrote: > Military Recruiters Told to Accept Gays > By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS > Published: October 19, 2010 > Sign In to E-Mail > > Print > > Single Page > > Filed at 7:44 p.m. ET > > SAN DIEGO (AP) — The military is accepting openly gay recruits for the > first time in the nation's history, even as it tries in the courts to > slow the movement to abolish its "don't ask, don't tell" policy. > > At least two service members discharged for being gay began the > process to re-enlist after the Pentagon's Tuesday announcement. > > Meanwhile, a federal judge in California who overturned the 17-year > policy last week was likely to reject the government's latest effort > to halt her order telling the military to stop enforcing the law. > > The Justice Department will likely appeal if she does not suspend her > order. > > The Defense Department has said it would comply with U.S. District > Judge Virginia Phillips' order and had frozen any discharge cases. > Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said recruiters had been given > top-level guidance to accept applicants who say they are gay. > > Recruiters also have been told to inform potential recruits that the > moratorium on enforcement of the policy could be reversed at any time, > if the ruling is appealed or the court grants a stay, she said. > > Gay rights groups were continuing to tell service members to avoid > revealing that they are gay, fearing they could find themselves in > trouble should the law be reinstated. > > "What people aren't really getting is that the discretion and caution > that gay troops are showing now is exactly the same standard of > conduct that they will adhere to when the ban is lifted permanently," > said Aaron Belkin, executive director of the Palm Center, a think tank > on gays and the military at the University of California Santa > Barbara. "Yes, a few will try to become celebrities." > > An Air Force officer and co-founder of a gay service member support > group called OutServe said financial considerations are playing a big > role in gay service members staying quiet. > > "The military has financially trapped us," he said, noting that he > could owe the military about $200,000 if he were to be dismissed. > > The officer, who asked not to be identified for fear of being > discharged, said he's hearing increasingly about heterosexual service > members approaching gay colleagues and telling them they can come out > now. > > He also said more gay service members are coming out to their peers > who are friends, while keeping their orientation secret from > leadership. He said he has come out to two peers in the last few days. > > "People are coming out informally in their units," the officer said. > "Discussions are happening right now." > > An opponent of the judge's ruling said confusion that has come up is > exactly what Pentagon officials feared and shows the need for her to > immediately freeze her order while the government appeals. > > "It's only logical that a stay should be granted to avoid the > confusion that is already occurring with reports that the Pentagon is > telling recruiters to begin accepting homosexual applicants," said > Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, a > conservative advocacy group based in Washington that supports the > policy. > > The uncertain status of the law has caused much confusion within an > institution that has historically discriminated against gays. > > Before the 1993 law, the military banned gays entirely and declared > them incompatible with military service. There have been instances in > which gays have served, with the knowledge of their colleagues. > > Twenty-nine nations, including Israel, Canada, Germany and Sweden, > allow openly gay troops, according to the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay > rights group and plaintiff in the lawsuit before Phillips. > > The Pentagon guidance to recruiters comes after Dan Woods, the group's > attorney, sent a letter last week warning the Justice Department that > Army recruiters who turned away Omar Lopez in Austin, Texas may have > caused the government to violate Phillips' injunction. Woods wrote > that the government could be subject to a citation for contempt. > > The White House has insisted their actions in court do not diminish > President Barack Obama's efforts to repeal the ban. > > In their stay request, government lawyers argue Phillips' order would > be disruptive to troops serving at a time of war. They say the > military needs time to prepare new regulations and train and educate > service members about the change. > > Phillips has said her order does not prohibit the Pentagon from > implementing those measures. > > Douglas Smith, spokesman for U.S. Army Recruiting Command based at > Fort Knox, Ky., said even before the ruling recruiters did not ask > applicants about their sexual orientation. The difference now is that > recruiters will process those who say they are gay. > > "If they were to self-admit that they are gay and want to enlist, we > will process them for enlistment, but will tell them that the legal > situation could change," Smith said. > > He said the enlistment process takes time and recruiters have been > told to inform those who are openly gay that they could be declared > ineligible if the law is upheld on appeal. > > "U.S. Army Recruiting Command is going to follow the law, whatever the > law is," he said. > > The message, however, had not reached some recruiting stations. > > In Pensacola, Marine Sgt. Timothy Chandler said he had been given no > direction. "As far as we are concerned everything is the same. The > policy hasn't changed," he said, as others in the office nodded. > > Chandler said no one had come to the small office questioning the > policy or asking about being openly gay and serving. > > Recruiters at the Navy office next door referred all media questions > to the Pentagon. Air Force recruiters said they were not authorized to > talk to the media. Army recruiters referred questions to another > office in Mobile, Ala. > > In New York's Times Square, Dan Choi, a 29-year-old Iraq War veteran > who was discharged for being gay, began the process to enlist in the > Army. In San Diego, recruiters took an application from Will > Rodriguez, a former Marine who was discharged under the policy in > 2008. > > Phillips said at a hearing Monday that she was learning toward denying > the Obama administration's request to delay her order. That would send > the case to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. > > After Phillips' ruling last week, Lopez — discharged from the Navy in > 2006 after admitting his gay status to his military doctor — walked > into an Army recruiting office in Austin and asked if he could > re-enlist. > > He said he was up front, even showing the recruiters his Navy > discharge papers. But they told him he couldn't re-enlist because they > had not gotten word from the Pentagon to allow openly gay recruits. > > Smith was unable to confirm the account. She said guidance on gay > applicants had been issued to recruiting commands on Oct. 15. > > On Tuesday, upon hearing of the changes to recruiting, Lopez said, > "Oh, my God! I've been waiting for this for four years." > > Lopez said he'll try again Friday and will go to a Navy recruiting > office in Austin to see if he can enroll in ROTC as an officer. He is > currently studying hospitality services at Austin Community College. > > "I'm hoping they'll let me in because I was able to switch over from > an enlistment to an officer. I'm really hoping they can accept me," he > said. > > ___ > > Flaherty reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Kristin M. > Hall in Nashville, Tenn., Lisa Leff in San Francisco, Melissa R. > Nelson in Pensacola, Fla., and Brian Witte in Annapolis, Md., > contributed to this report. > > > More: > > > http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/10/19/us/AP-US-Gays-in-Military.html?hp > -- > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. > Have a great day, > Tommy > > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at > http://www.PoliticalForum.com/<http://www.politicalforum.com/> > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
