Obama proposes end to 'don't ask, don't tell'

Calling it the “right thing to do,” President Barack Obama and his top military advisers want to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law that prohibits homosexuals from serving openly in the armed forces.

“This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are,” Obama pledged last month during the State of the Union address.

This proposal has stirred strong – and mixed – feelings throughout Washington, the country and here at UT.

“In my opinion, being gay has nothing to do with how capable you are of being able to serve in the military,” said UT freshman Jess Bernard. “I have gay friends here at school who are tough as hell and could easily handle a straight guy, so why does the military have to know if they’re gay?”

Sophomore Brendan Milliken, a midshipman in the USF-UT Naval ROTC program, said the president has “good intentions,” but said he worries about potential consequences for openly gay members of the military.

“Disclosing military members’ sexuality could potentially open up the flood gates for more discrimination to occur in the future,” he predicted.

Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Feb. 2, a few days after Obama’s state of the union, to promote the proposal.

“I cannot escape being troubled by the fact we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens,” said Mullen, who was first appointed by former President George W. Bush.

Longtime Arizona Sen. John McCain (Rep.) expressed his disapproval for the recent push to repeal the policy. McCain, a decorated veteran, said the current policy does not need fixing.

“It is well understood and predominately supported by our military at all levels,” he said in a news release.

Gates wants to conduct a yearlong study on the policy change, followed by a year of transition, according to The New York Times. Obama promoted gay rights throughout his campaign, but even with a Democratic-led Congress, experts predict he may face stiff opposition.

“Voters may feel better about the idea of openly gay soldiers and sailors but that doesn’t mean the process of trying to change the policy doesn’t have enormous political risks for Obama,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Still, plenty believe the difficulty of the change shouldn’t stop it from happening.

“I feel that all types of lifestyles should be able to serve in the Army. Sexual preference shouldn’t be an issue when it comes to protecting our country,” said junior Samantha Gant.

However, others fear that if the changes happen too soon, it will breed animosity.

“I feel as though those who admit openly to being homosexual will end up being tortured through insults, violence and any other means by our military personnel,” said sophomore Abby Ray. “I do think that sometime this policy should be repealed, but I agree that at this time with the war and tension already present, this is a bad idea.”