DADT: Gays, Civil Rights, and Racists

DADT: Gays, Civil Rights, and Racists

As the Senate prepares to consider repeal of the 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy and allow homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces, a senior military official expressed his imperious–and odd–views on the issue.

Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, the Army’s deputy chief of staff in charge of personnel matters, drew parallels between the civil rights movement and the effort to repeal DADT. He condemned those who favor retention of DADT, those who oppose the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender agenda, as racists who should forthwith be drummed out of the military.

More specifically, Bostick, a black officer, said that, “Unfortunately, we have a minority of service members who are still racists and bigoted and you will never be able to get rid of all of them. But these people opposing this new policy will need to get with the program, and if they can’t, they need to get out. No matter how much training and education of those in opposition, you’re always going to have those that oppose this on moral and religious grounds just like you still have racists today.”

If I understand those statements correctly, anyone who opposes repealing DADT is the equivalent of George Wallace, Bull Connor, and David Duke because they fear the negative impact of repeal on our military and believe repeal would be morally repugnant.

According to the general, if you harbor moral and religious objections, it’s just too damned bad. Just sit down, shut up, and keep your opinions to yourself or get out. The United States Army will brook no opposition.

General Bostick would seem better suited to running a gulag than tending to personnel matters.

As the Washington Times opined . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=1905)