SHOCK: Most US Troops, Families Say Gays OK

[PanzerJaeger]

OK but what does that have to do with your earlier use of the word "coward"? Being illogical makes you a "coward"?

You're on the end of similar tiresome rhetoric a fair bit yourself, I thought you might at least spare other people from it.

I did not use the word 'coward' in my post. I assume you're referring to the sentence 'gay-haters are never brave enough to stand behind their feelings', which was not rhetoric. It is my genuine belief that there is a lot more standing between your average anti-gay opinion than four obscure versus scattered throughout the Old and New Testaments. Gay haters understand that 'it just don't seem right' is not a valid argument for de-legitimizing a portion of society, so they hide behind religion, as there are no other valid arguments against accepting homosexuality as the natural genetic/biological/nurturing-induced variation that it is.

As for the matter itself, the army needs social cohesion, and so should reflect society itself if it is to work effectively. So if society as a whole don't like blacks, don't put them in the army. One of the central ideas behind a liberal democracy is that the military and politics are kept strictly separate, and the military should be able to organise itself effectively without becoming a tool for social engineering.

Well, apart from pointing out that gay people are part of society, it seems like we're on the same page. Society wants this, the military brass want this, and now it appears the grunts want it as well.

Even in countries where their ideology has meant that it is used for precisely that (social enginering), with probably France being the best example, they've never stuck with it in reality, because it doesn't work. The Foreign Legion is I believe still not allowed to enter French soil (I think anyway).

How is this social engineering? Gay people serve at all levels of the military. At this point it is just an acknowledgement of reality. The real social engineering took place nearly twenty years ago during the Clinton administration and worked out quite poorly, with many thousands of gay people serving combat and non combat roles throughout the military summarily kicked out. What is so morally bankrupt about 'Don't Ask' is that it acknowledges the fact that gay people are just as capable of serving as straight people, but requires their dismissal if their sexuality is uncovered. It would be more intellectually honest to ban them outright.