Sorry We Asked, Sorry You Told
By Dana Milbank
Thursday, July 24, 2008; Page A03
Don't ask, don't tell. And, whatever you do, don't ask Elaine Donnelly to tell you what she thinks about gays in the military.
The House Armed Services personnel subcommittee made just such a miscalculation yesterday. Holding the first hearing in 15 years on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, lawmakers invited a quartet of veterans to testify on the subject and also extended an invitation to Donnelly, who has been working for years to protect our fighting forces from the malign influence of women.
Donnelly treated the panel to an extraordinary exhibition of rage. She warned of "transgenders in the military." She warned that lesbians would take pictures of people in the shower. She spoke ominously of gays spreading "HIV positivity" through the ranks.
"We're talking about real consequences for real people," Donnelly proclaimed. Her written statement added warnings about "inappropriate passive/aggressive actions common in the homosexual community," the prospects of "forcible sodomy" and "exotic forms of sexual expression," and the case of "a group of black lesbians who decided to gang-assault" a fellow soldier.
…
Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.) labeled her statement "just bonkers" and "dumb," and he called her claims about an HIV menace "inappropriate." Said Snyder: "By this analysis . . . we ought to recruit only lesbians for the military, because they have the lowest incidence of HIV in the country."
Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.), a veteran of the war in Iraq, called Donnelly's words "an insult to me and many of the soldiers" by saying they "aren't professional enough to serve openly with gay troops while successfully completing their military mission."
…
Shays, his voice rising with Yankee indignation, continued to lecture Donnelly: "I think the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy is unpatriotic. I think it's counterproductive. In fact, I think it is absolutely cruel."
Donnelly said something about her respect for the service of gay veterans. "How do you respect their service?" Shays demanded. "You want them out."
From the Chicago Tribune…
Hearing examines 'don't ask, don't tell' policy
Discussion intended to look at effect of gays-in-military rule
By Amanda Erickson | Washington Bureau
July 24, 2008
The hearing also drew on the experiences of gay former service members.
Retired Capt. Joan Darrah, who served in the Navy for 30 years, spoke of the stress the policy caused her.
Darrah had been at a meeting in the Pentagon just minutes before it was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001.
"The reality is that if I had been killed, my partner then of 11 years would have been the last to know," she said. "I had not dared to list her in any of my paperwork."
Last year some 700 military personnel were discharged from the armed forces at the same time the military lowered it standards to accept convicted felons, including rapist, to join the military in order to meet its quotas. Something is wrong with this picture!
Military Enlistment of Felons has Doubled
The data indicate that from 2003 through 2006, the military allowed 4,230 convicted felons to enlist under the "moral waivers" program, which enables otherwise unqualified candidates to serve. In addition, 43,977 individuals convicted of serious misdemeanors such as assault were permitted to enlist under the moral waivers program during that period, as were 58,561 illegal drug abusers. In the Army, allowable offenses include making terrorist threats, murder, and kidnapping.
Sharp Drop in Gays Discharged From Military Tied to War Need
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; Page A03
More than 10,870 military personnel have been discharged under the policy since President Bill Clinton signed it into law in 1993. The law requires that gay service members keep their sexual orientation private and do not engage in homosexual acts, and it prohibits commanders from asking about sexual orientation.
Rep. Patrick Murphy questions the witnesses
Hearing on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" - Rep. Patrick Murphy 2
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