Ex-senator Sam Nunn reverses opposition to gays in military

[jefferson_dem]

Glad to see Nunn (my former Senator) is jumping over to the right side of history, finally. This is not insignificant. He carries sway with some Senators who may be wavering.

Ex-senator reverses opposition to gays in military

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seventeen years after leading the fight in Congress against gays in the military, former Democratic senator Sam Nunn says he thinks gays could serve openly without damaging the armed forces' ability to fight.

In an interview this week, Nunn told the Associated Press that the law known as "don't ask, don't tell" should be overturned as long as there is enough time to prepare the troops for the change. He said the Pentagon should be given at least a year before the repeal takes effect to ensure operations in Afghanistan aren't affected.

"Society has changed, and the military has changed," the former senator from Georgia said.

Democrats have been trying unsuccessfully for months to repeal the law, which bans troops from acknowledging their sexual orientation. A provision in a broader defense policy bill would lift the ban, contingent upon certification by the president and the Pentagon that doing so wouldn't hurt military effectiveness.

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The 1993 "don't ask, don't tell" law was considered a compromise between President Bill Clinton, who wanted to lift the military ban on gays entirely, and the Pentagon, which warned that doing so would compromise military effectiveness.

Opponents in Congress, led by Nunn as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said they agreed with the military that allowing gays to serve would hurt the "cohesion," or bonds of trust, within a unit and that morale would suffer.

Throughout the 1993 debate, Nunn frequently sparred with his more liberal Democratic colleagues, including Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, who is gay.

In 2008, after Nunn's name was floated as a possible running mate for Barack Obama during the presidential campaign, Nunn said he thought the question of gays in the military deserved "another look." He declined to say at the time, however, whether he would support changing the law.

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http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-12-09-dont-ask-dont-tell-debate_N.htm

[Freddie Stubbs]

1. It's easy to take a tough stand when you no longer have to stand for election

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. I Don't Think Being Anti DADT Will Hurt You Politically, Even In The South

Like being pro-choice, it's probably a wash.

[DURHAM D]

3. That's just rich. a-hole

[jefferson_dem]

4. Not that he isn't one...

Believe me, I know. But if this helps get the repeal in place, i'm more than cool with his flippity-floppity.

[Clio the Leo]

5. kickers nt

[LiberalFighter]

6. Troops need time to prepare for the change?

What do they need to do to make that happen? I would think most everyone in the military already knows that there are gays in the military for many years.

Just institute the change and dictate that anyone violating will be dealt with case by case. Anyone trying to convert gays into straights will be discipline and raping anyone that are not both gay will be 30 days in the brig for the first offense. So if a straight rapes a gay the only way he will avoid the brig is to claim he is also gay but seriously doubt a straight willing to rape a gay would want to be considered gay.