Republicans are divided on whether gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals should serve openly in the U.S. military.
Just days after President Barack Obama pledged to repeal the controversial “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, a large majority of Americans voice support for the proposed change, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,004 American adults, 66 per cent of respondents agree with allowing gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals to serve openly in the U.S. military.
One-in-four respondents (25%) disagree with this proposal, and nine per cent are undecided.
Large majorities of Democrats (75%) and Independents (70%) agree with the proposed change, but Republicans are almost evenly divided (48% agree with allowing gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals to serve openly in the U.S. military, while 45% disagree).
The level of agreement with the proposed change is high across both genders (64% for Men, 68% for Women) and three age groups (70% for respondents aged 18 to 34, 61% for respondents aged 35 to 54, and 68% for respondents over the age of 55).
Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
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Everybody has a right to serve their country and if there are those like myself who will do so at the risk of their life then this must be encouraged by removing the barriers that exist due soley to ignorance or idealogy.
i think that people should do whatever makes them happy not what makes everybody else happy.
This is about National Security! The military have enough issues on their plate without having to be held accountable by Congress for this one. Whether you work in corporate America or in the military, you pretty much know the sexual orientation of individuals and find a way to work with and be gracious without having it blasted in your ear. Leave it be.
I know of several gay and lesbian people who already serve in the military. I don’t understand why we are putting effort into this issue. There are so many other issues we should be looking at – for instance why are we paying civilians more money to work at the military bases in the mess hall, or be in charge of soldiers, determining whether they pass or fail an exercise(they probably can’t even to themselves), than the soldiers who are going out to risk their lives are getting paid?
Whether a person is gay or Lesbian should be a non-issue, and should matter no more than a person’s race, or religion, or anything else that makes us the individuals we are – that is not at all! None of these things should be required information when signing up for the military.
I am a Retired Women’s Army Corp,Vietnam Era Disabled Veteran. I served with many gay and lesbian soldiers in the medical field, and though there were a few bad apples, the majority worked harder, and achieved high praises than their heterosexual counterparts. This means that these people were excellant soldiers. We lied, sometimes married other gay soldiers, covered our tracks, devised safe codes to protect each other and often suffered severe depression. We all survived. I helped save lives, yet wonder what those soldiers would think if they knew. Would they have refused treatment? I met my partner of 33 years in the service. I challenge anyone to not speak, be with too often, risk losing jobs, or endure separation for 1 week. Take all those photos of family off the desk. We couldn’y have children for fear of losing all. Yet both of us would still serve in time of war, and never regretted the years we served our country.
Being a heterosexual does not make a soldier or sailor bullet proof. Just get over it. We are all fighting on the same team not sleeping in the same bed.