Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and the 110th Congress. [View All]

[JeremyWestenn]

The Military Readiness Enhancement Act is probably the bill that I am looking the most forward to in the 110th Congress. The lady that managed to overturn our incumbenent Republican did not necessarily announce her support for it but said that she would repeal the policy that this bill was made to do itself.

The Military Readiness Enhancement Act is the Congressional repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. The Republicans have essentially killed it everytime it was submitted, drowning it in subcommitte and whatnot. Last session it wasn't even brought to the floor. I'm curious as to what the rest of the DU'ers here think will come of this bill. We've never had a chance to overturn it before but now I think we can get some real progress on it. Barney Frank I believe even said that would finally be able to hold hearings on this again and subsequently that would get some massive traction going.

My question to you people is if you think the Democratically controlled Congress will and can pass this bill? I should also mention that polls show that about 70% of the nation, I can't think of them now but if you go to sldn.org you should be able to find sources, disagree with banning gays in the military. Essentially, most people think you should be able to serve in the armed forces and still be able to have a love life.

As a gay person this clearly means a lot to me, as a young man who is more then likely going to enlist in the Navy it means a lot more to me. I want a normal life. I'm 19 years old, I've never really been kissed (I've been kissed twice, once when I was 10 and the other two times it was absolutely the most mortifying sexual experiences of my life), I've never been in love, and if this policy still stands it is probably most likely that I will not do any of those things for a very long time. Which I can deal with, it's apart of the package. I'm just hoping and praying the package get's changed.

I'd post this in the GLBT forum but not that many people really frequent there, and I really want every DU'ers perspective, not just my community. That'd give me a pretty slanted view.

Look forward to your responses.