I'm so happy they finally managed to repeal it. It was touch and go for such a long time.

John McCain is not happy.  I think he believes the world will now crumble.
I am happy that McCain is not happy.
I am pleased that they persevered with this.

Sorry but I can't find it in myself to celebrate that any human being of any sexual persuasion has won the right to die needlessly because some anonymous suit in an office had an agenda 

Or alternatively...
"Anyone, dumb enough to want to be in the military, should be allowed in."
- Bill Hicks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np6_b-72H3E
(As usual with Bill Hicks clips, I'm not embedding this as it contains a huge number of sweary words...)

Matter of choice, I wouldn't put myself forward for the job and I rate those who do.

Or, they've won the right to live openly, as themselves, without losing their jobs? 

^^^^ this what Blizzie said 


Great news 

About bloody time.

Good news indeed for those who want to join up -

Not before bloomin' time 

wish ours were like theirs

The land of the free.

*coughs*

Gay rights activists and liberals were celebrating after a surprise Senate vote yesterday that will allow gay men and women to serve openly in the US military for the first time.

Democrats, supported by eight Republicans and two independents, voted by a higher-than-expected 65 to 31 in favour of repeal of the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy, the messy compromise introduced during the Clinton years.

One of the main campaign groups, the Servicemembers Legal Defence Network, described reform as the "defining civil rights initiative of this decade".

Opponents of the bill's repeal, such as the socially conservative Family Research Council, described the vote as "a tragic day for our armed forces".

Tony Perkins, the Family Research Council's president, said: "The American military exists for only one purpose – to fight and win wars. It has now been hijacked and turned into a tool for imposing on the country a radical social agenda."

The vote gives an unexpected end-of-year boost to Barack Obama, who campaigned in 2008 on a promise to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell', in which gay people could serve in the military as long as their sexual orientation remained secret.

Obama wrote on Twitter: "By ending 'don't ask, don't tell', no longer will patriotic Americans be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love." The White House said Obama will sign the bill into law this week.

The US now, belatedly, joins other western forces in allowing gay soldiers to serve openly. It will be several months before the new law takes effect.

It has long been an embarrassment to Democrats and liberals that the US, which portrays itself as socially progressive and a champion of human rights, still denies gay people equal rights in the military.

John Kerry, the Democratic chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, said: "The military remains the great equaliser. Just like we did after President Truman desegregated the military, we'll someday look back and wonder what took Washington so long to fix it."

'Don't ask, don't tell' was introduced by Bill Clinton in 1993 as a fudge, a way to allow gay soldiers to serve in a military from which they had been explicitly banned. But serving gay soldiers were always at risk of being outed by comrades, senior officers and spurned lovers, or by a chance remark on Facebook, and more than 13,000 have been dismissed since 1993. Gay soldiers who were forced out of the military will now be able to re-enlist.

The likelihood of repeal any time soon appeared dead last week when it was lost in a bigger, composite bill on defence spending. Democrats, however, brought it back yesterday as a stand alone bill, and it went through easily, in spite of opposition from senior Republicans like John McCain.

McCain blamed the vote on liberals with no military experience imposing social change on the forces at a time of war. The military will do what is asked of them, he said, adding: "But don't think there won't be a great cost."

Since Obama became president, the defence secretary, Robert Gates, and senior figures in the armed forces, such as the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, have come out in favour of allowing gay men and women to serve. A Pentagon survey of serving members published in November showed two-thirds either positive about serving alongside gay men and women, or neutral. Opposition was highest in the marines.

Crikey, they've been living in the dark ages! They should have sorted this out a long time ago

The powers-that-be have expected gay men and women in the forces to "live a lie".
Why?
Is living a lie something any human being should be asking another?
Why have gay men and women in the forces been regarded as lesser mortals?
Why have the powers-that-be thought that openness about their orientation would do harm?
When authorities expect a person to "live a lie" they have over-stepped their role.

I was all for being a Woman police officer in the 'womans Royal Air Force' - one of the questions asked me - was would I report a colleague who had adverse thoughts about a similar colleague ??
needless to say the answer was NO!
After all My bro is more of a girlie than me!
SHAME ON THEM!!!

Me too.

It's about time.

Live and let Live. Its about time every country moved forwared to embrace the 21st century insted of relating back to 1000 year old rules. Onward and Upward.

Absolutely not, yet it's been our Border Agency's answer to many LGBT people who come here seeking asylum from oppressive regimes. "Send them back and tell them to pretend they're not who they are" is a shameful policy.

I don't like the idea of gay people being "outed" by others.
But it is good to hear that this MP feels he has reached the point at which he can be openly gay. It must be different for everyone.

The MP decided AFTER the election.
His sexuality should not be an issue ,but he himself knew, that to out himself prior would have been political suicide.

The repeal has been signed.


Barack Obama signed a landmark law today that allows gay people to serve openly for the first time in America's armed forces. He said "No longer will tens of thousands of Americans in uniform be asked to live a lie."
"This day has come," said an elated Mike Almy, an air force major discharged four years ago when his sexual orientation became known.
"Don't ask, don't tell' is over, and you no longer have to sacrifice your integrity."


It may take a few months to fully implement new law, but the President has vowed that they will not "drag their feet."


Hoo-bloomin'-ray!

I saw Obamy's speech about this earlier and boy doesn't he look smug pretending it's his idea   the truth of the matter is several state courts (California is one) were about to challenge the US government about this and would almost certainly have legally got this pushed though.

Obama got in and has taken credit for it    although we know there will still be a lot of prejudice shown to service men and women no matter what 

Watched it, at last.... Wonder if the forces will be as harsh on the homophobes as they were on the thousands of gay and lesbians that were kicked out of the forces.

Yes Dame, "thousands". You are right.
It's incredible to me that so many people are  prepared to put their lives in dangerous situations and even to sacrifice their lives in many cases.
As if that was not enough they were expected to sacrifice their integrity too.
No longer. 

About time