Why are gay men kicked out of the military while women are admitted into it?

It’s don’t ask, don’t tell still I believe. And please don’t use gross generalizations like “straight women cause more disruption than gay men”. Where did you get your info, and are you aware that lumping people into one category (that has nothing to do with sex) based upon their sexual preference makes no sense?

Gay men are still kicked out of the military under don’t ask, don’t tell. I’m not trying to lump straight women and gay men into the same category, but for the purpose of this argument, which seems to be made by the Defense Department in their reasoning for banning gays from the military.

If you are offended, I apologize.

@holden I’m not offended but reading my comment I see how it comes off that way. I just don’t like when people use stereotypes, but it seems to be the Defense Dept. and not you doing the stereotyping here. I’m a “ban the dog, not the breed” kind of thinker! If someone causes a disruption, deal with that specific situation. Don’t make assumptions about someone based on their sexual preference. Ya know?

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” is a ridiculous policy to have, but I honestly think it started because so many gay soldiers were killed by straight soldiers. It’s pathetic that a policy like that would need to be put in place in order to keep gay soldiers from being killed. It needs to be remedied somehow, but I wouldn’t know how…

In the light of that they have trouble recruiting people to the military in general, it makes even less sense. I don’t see this discussion in Europe, and I don’t know why it is an issue in the US. They are supposed to be the forerunners of freedom and justice.

People having a problem with gay people obviously has a failed upbringing, and the problem seems to stem from outside the military. Society puts down the social rules, and the stigmas.

America is such a paradox in many aspects. I suspect the bible is to blame. It’s not very Web 2.0.

Thank you for answering, folks. I’m going to go try to persuade my roommate to stop clipping his toenails over my desk and go to bed.

Because some people in charge are mentally still living in the sixties of the last century.

@holden EEEK! Good luck with that! Nighty night everyone

It is a shame that all humans are not hired and fired on their ability to do the job instead of these arbitrary qualifications that society or culture or bias has ordained.

Imagine if a nurse got fired from work because they were gay, or a mechanic, a school teacher. Where is there a difference? Why doesn’t legislation protect people in certain lines of work and not others?

Do they treat lesbians the same as gay men, or is this an aspect of old men feeling uncomfortable with what other men might do with their penis in their spare time?

As oratio said above, it’s not really an issue in most European armies. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” here simply means you are not asked about your sexual preferences to start with (and all men are assumed straight, even if they show up for duty dressed in pink feathers).

The difference between gay men and women would be that gay men would be serving together with other men, sharing the same showers and sleeping in the same rooms. I don’t see how this could ever result in sex, but the military was never known for its grasp on logic. Women on the other hand live with other women (and are also presumed straight). I’m guessing lesbians would also not officially be allowed in the army, but they’d be harder to spot anyway.

But that whole thing is one of the many reasons the army in general makes no sense.

I think ridiculous straight men who are homophobic are afraid of being hit on, but they are not upset about being able to hit on women.

@oratio Actually, firing someone because of their orientation is still legal in some states. Ridiculous, no? It won’t be legal (on a national level) as soon as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act goes through, but it hasn’t yet… Unfortunately.

It is already illegal for government employees to be fired due to such, but not in the private sector… also, even ENDA excludes religious organizations, who apparently are free to discriminate…

And yup, lesbians are treated the same as gay men in the military – they cannot serve unless they “don’t tell.”

Spiffy.

Because more people think that it’s asinine to discriminate on the basis of gender than think that it’s asinine to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.

Because homophobic men are terrified that some gay man is going to hit on them, and that makes them doubt their own masculinity. This is called “unit cohesion.”

because the Army, like most government institutions, is completely ridiculous…