Powell EXCLUSIVE: DADT Will Go Away
EmailIn my exclusive “This Week” interview, Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said “the country has changed” in the 17 years since “don’t ask, don’t tell” became law and now believes, “it is perfectly acceptable to get rid of the law and the policy.” But, he added, “before we actually do it, we have to hear clearly from the officers and men and women who are in charge of executing that policy.”
The retired general and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said, “at the end of the day, the law will change and “don’t ask/don’t tell” will go away. But don’t underestimate some of the issues that we dealt with in 1993 and that we’re dealing with now.”
Powell said, “I think it’s important to listen to the troops who are affected and take into account the views of the senior leadership and military leadership of the armed forces.”
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I hope and pray this repeal attempt fails. The majority of the military like the DADT policy, so leave it as is.
Posted by: rkm63 | May 30, 2010, 1:12 pm 1:12 pm
America has become a very backwards country, hasn’t it? Countless other civilized countries allow homosexuals to openly serve, and nothing terrible has happened. It’s sad to see that so many of the people who are tasked with defending our freedoms are themselves so paralyzed with fears. My grandfathers fought and died to preserve total American freedoms, and one of those is the freedom to openly be who you are. It’s disheartening to see that there are people who serve in our military yet do not fully believe in American ideals such as the pursuit of happiness.
Posted by: Bakely | May 30, 2010, 1:30 pm 1:30 pm
@bakeley.
Well, it is nothing new. Slavery, segregation, and even the Soviets mocked America’s sexism by sending the first woman into space.
Posted by: parallax | May 30, 2010, 1:38 pm 1:38 pm
It’s quite sad to see a person of color insist that a far reaching longterm review is necessary before there’s an end to blatant and unsupportable discrimination.
We didn’t need a years-long study to desegregate the military: the President signed an executive order.We don’t need a review to realize some people are bigots.
Posted by: fefre | May 30, 2010, 2:11 pm 2:11 pm
DADT needs to remain. I hope the DOD impact statement bears that out.
Posted by: Robert | May 30, 2010, 2:20 pm 2:20 pm
@fefre.
Precisely. No one considered granting the south a long term review on abolishing slavery. The north pounded them into the ground and made it so.
Same with Desegregation. No long term review. They sent the National guard and forced it.
Pure stalling tactics.
Posted by: parallax | May 30, 2010, 2:54 pm 2:54 pm
As a veteran of World War II, as a guy happily married to the same woman for 57+ years, I fully hope and expect that we will overcome our bigotry and open our military to full and open gay participation and the sooner the better.
Posted by: Herb Gray | May 30, 2010, 3:52 pm 3:52 pm
It’s is time to repeal. Once repealed, I’m sure that no one will even notice a change…EXCEPT for the gays and lesbians now serving who will no longer have to worry about being discharged for loving a person of the same biological sex.
Posted by: Rascals2006 | May 30, 2010, 10:49 pm 10:49 pm
fefre, I think the review is not whether to do it but how to do it. If the vast majority of the public and the men and women in the service think banning gays is wrong, gays are going to be allowed in the military. They are studying how other armies that don’t ban gays work out the logistics.
Posted by: Lydia | May 31, 2010, 11:49 am 11:49 am
Our military personnel work side by side with homosexual peers today. That will not change, regardless. These are people who have sacrificed giving service to their country. They serve in war zones. They are patriots and warriors. Ending DODT ends the legitimized discrimination of these soldiers.
Posted by: DaveM | June 1, 2010, 12:28 pm 12:28 pm
How about we keep DADT but instead of aiming it at gays, we aim it at homophobes. In other words, if you don’t like gays, keep it to yourself or you get booted out.
Posted by: Swobbie | June 1, 2010, 7:25 pm 7:25 pm