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Ear to the Ground

No Openly Gay Soldiers Any Time Soon

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Posted on Sep 21, 2010

Senate Republicans and a couple of conservative Democrats killed a measure that would have made it possible to end the ban on gays in the military. Because the bill probably won’t be brought up again until after November, and the next Senate is expected to grow more conservative, it could be years before gays are allowed to serve openly.

According to a Gallup poll conducted in May, 70 percent of Americans “continue to favor allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the military, with continued majority support from every key demographic subgroup.”

BBC:

Earlier, the only Republican senator to support repealing the law, Susan Collins, said she was withdrawing her support.

In the event Democratic senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor both sided with Republicans to block the bill, while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, also voted against the measure as a procedural tactic.

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Kanamachi's avatar

By Kanamachi, September 23, 2010 at 12:43 pm Link to this comment

These so-called leaders of our country, and especially the GOP along with the
Democrats who support their homophobia and down right stupidity, are not only
spineless hypocrites but make a mockery of our Constitution by denying the rights
of a harmless group even though these men and women put their lives on the line
just like straight Americans in the military do.
It is no wonder why so many see American prattling about its cherished freedoms
as pure propaganda and nonsense. The American public is also complicit in
denying civil rights to all gays, not just those in the military, and are just as
despicable and spineless to me as these so-called representatives of the people in
Congress.

Report this
RAE's avatar

By RAE, September 22, 2010 at 2:41 pm Link to this comment

What a game! What an incredibly expensive and ugly game being played by IGNORANT politicians over this completely irrational and manufactured “gay” issue.

The lack of respect Americans afford each other and their own constitution and laws is appalling. All the chest-thumping is nothing but a show - a cover for an inferiority complex the size of the continent.

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By Chris, September 22, 2010 at 11:21 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

@Faith   I think the link to the Top Gun pic is that Tom Cruise is a closet case.

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By BobZ, September 22, 2010 at 11:03 am Link to this comment

I hope there is some way to punish Senators Lincoln and Pryor. There vote was
disgusting and no way represents progressive Democratic Party viewpoints.
McCain has turned into one of the worst U.S. Senators in recent memory. He is up
there with Imhofe and DeMint.

Report this

By faith, September 22, 2010 at 9:48 am Link to this comment

That “Top Gun” picture from the volleyball scene is really, really inappropriate. 
Please take it down Truthdig.  I love this blog site, but that picture grievously
offends me.  I suspect if offends everyone married to Naval Aviators.  It has
absolutely nothing to do with the topic here.

Report this

By felicity, September 22, 2010 at 9:34 am Link to this comment

Why hasn’t this issue made it to the Supreme Court. 
Granted for too many years the august Court has been
primarily staffed with brain-dead bodies, but with
the two recent appointments, the half-brain-dead may
now outnumber the merely brain-dead.  So what’s the
hang-up or better yet, where is it.

Brown vs Board of Education ruled that separate is
not equal - thus the end of Jim Crow.  The gays in
the military issue is a blatant case of separate is
equal. Even the brain-dead would have a hard time
defending it without over-turning Brown - which of
course they could do.  (Back to Jim Crow?)

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By purplewolf, September 22, 2010 at 6:52 am Link to this comment

McCain lied again. He claimed he would side with the top military recommendations if they wanted to end DADT and then he did his usual and thoroughly expected flip-flop. This person is too old and senile to remain in congress and needs to have been put out to pasture 20 years ago. Even during the campaign he flip-flopped on what he did for making laws and the outcomes and they were 180 degrees from what he claimed. This is the same person who said he would collect his money and refuse to do anything else until elections in November if the medical act was passed. He lied again. In fact this arrogant and totally unqualified repukelican hack is running for another term of stealing taxpayer money and doing nothing but sabotaging anything Democratic.
We do not need narrow minded,unbending and unreasonable people in congress. Time for him to go.

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RayLan's avatar

By RayLan, September 22, 2010 at 4:35 am Link to this comment

What a backward culture America is - it sees itself as the only really Christian culture - and yet many nations, Christian and otherwise, have allowed gays to server openly. What is happening to the constitutional provision that government shall not establish religious practices? And apart from just crass bigotry - the only objection would be a religious one.

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By call me roy, September 21, 2010 at 5:11 pm Link to this comment

Tick tock, tick tock Barry

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Fat Freddy's avatar

By Fat Freddy, September 21, 2010 at 4:38 pm Link to this comment

With the wave of Christian Conservatives that have taken over the Tea Parties, the incumbent Republicans must now prove their purity. The funny thing is, the real Ron Paul, Campaign for Liberty Tea Partiers, and the Libertarian Party, are in favor of ending the ban on gays in the military, and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=36082

http://www.lp.org/blogs/mark-meranta/libertarians-attend-the-national-equality-march-in-dc

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