# New push in Congress to reverse "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gays in military **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 1, 2007, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221 "2007-03-01T22:16:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2007, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/1 "2007-03-01T22:16:03Z")
Story [here.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/28/AR2007022801557.html) 1. Will this make it to a floor vote in either house? 2. If so, will it pass? 3. If so, will Bush sign it or veto it? 4. If he signs it – what happens then, in the military? 5. What will be the political fallout for the Dems? For the Pubs? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/2 "2007-03-02T00:19:19Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] …1. Will this make it to a floor vote in either house? [/QUOTE] Yes [QUOTE=BrainGlutton] …2. If so, will it pass?? [/QUOTE] Yes [QUOTE=BrainGlutton] …3. If so, will Bush sign it or veto it?? [/QUOTE] It’s a tossup. Vetoing it would hurt him more than signing it, but he’s already hated and his only concern now is what’ll be written in the history books. [QUOTE=BrainGlutton] …4. If he signs it – what happens then, in the military?? [/QUOTE] Gay, lesbian, and bisexual servicemembers no longer have to be celibate and are subject to the same rules that currently govern male/female relations. Most of our allies allow gays to serve without incident. The military functions as normal. The real problem will what happens when the partners of openly gay soldiers demand benifits and housing. [QUOTE=BrainGlutton] …5. What will be the political fallout for the Dems? For the Pubs? [/QUOTE] Good for the Dems, neutral for the Pubs. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/3 "2007-03-02T00:23:46Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] Good for the Dems, neutral for the Pubs. [/QUOTE] I’d say negative for the Republicans. If they oppose it, they alienate the moderates in their party who are more concerned about the state of the military than on keeping the queers down. And if they support it, they alienate the religious right, who’d rather see the entire nation fall to Al Qaeda than allow a homosexual to be treated the same as a heterosexual in any context. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/4 "2007-03-02T01:19:03Z")
Hmmmm…George W. Bush recorded in history as the man that signed the bill authorizing gays in the military. Might be his last chance to accomplish something positive as POTUS… Carpe Hilaris? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/5 "2007-03-02T01:28:22Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] I’d say negative for the Republicans. If they oppose it, they alienate the moderates in their party who are more concerned about the state of the military than on keeping the queers down. [/QUOTE] I don’t know…they can always justify a veto with “We’re at war. This is no time for radical social experimentation with our military” or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/6 "2007-03-02T01:37:58Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] I don’t know…they can always justify a veto with “We’re at war. This is no time for radical social experimentation with our military” or something like that. [/QUOTE] Yes cause we’ve never done that before [cough]WACs, [cough]WAVES, and so one. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Yag\_Rannavach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/858c86/32.png) [@Yag\_Rannavach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yag_Rannavach)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/7 "2007-03-02T02:42:57Z")
It doesn’t matter what we’ve done before, only if the media (and by extension, the public at large) buys the explanation or not. If that explanation casts a bit of doubt on the motives in the minds of those moderates, then it doesn’t matter whether or not it has anything to do with reality…Unless I managed to get teleported into a world without politics… ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/8 "2007-03-02T03:01:21Z")
Am I the only person who read “reversing” “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as the return to a policy where personnel can be asked, made to tell, & removed from service? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/9 "2007-03-02T03:48:10Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] Yes cause we’ve never done that before [cough]WACs, [cough]WAVES, and so one. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] You fool – 9/11 changed _everything!!_ ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/10 "2007-03-02T03:50:59Z")
[QUOTE=Oakminster] Carpe Hilaris? [/QUOTE] Sieze Hillary Clinton?! :eek: No thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/11 "2007-03-02T03:57:36Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] Yes cause we’ve never done that before [cough]WACs, [cough]WAVES, and so one. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] You’re just ignoring reality’s well known liberal bias, that’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/12 "2007-03-02T04:10:27Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] Sieze Hillary Clinton?! :eek: No thank you! [/QUOTE] I don’t know Latin. Was going for Sieze teh Gay… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/13 "2007-03-02T04:23:25Z")
[QUOTE=foolsguinea] Am I the only person who read “reversing” “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as the return to a policy where personnel can be asked, made to tell, & removed from service? [/QUOTE] Was my first impression, too. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/14 "2007-03-02T20:25:38Z")
[QUOTE=EddyTeddyFreddy] You fool – 9/11 changed _everything!!_ [/QUOTE] No, no, no – 12/7 changed everything. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/15 "2007-03-02T20:43:00Z")
[QUOTE=foolsguinea] Am I the only person who read “reversing” “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as the return to a policy where personnel can be asked, made to tell, & removed from service? [/QUOTE] I specified “in Congress” – remember who controls it, now. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-push-in-congress-to-reverse-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-on-gays-in-military/394221/16 "2007-03-03T07:45:57Z")
I dunno about you, but I take “reversing” to mean changing things back to the way they were before. > [@](#): > > It was introduced as a compromise measure in 1993 by President Bill Clinton who, while campaigning for the Presidency, had promised to allow all citizens regardless of sexual orientation to serve openly in the military, a departure from the then complete ban on those who are not heterosexual. The actual policy was crafted by Colin Powell and has been maintained by Clinton’s successor, George W. Bush. The policy is opposed by some pro- and anti-gay advocates alike. [Don't ask, don't tell - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_ask_don%27t_tell)