Vigorous debate held on 'don't ask, don't tell'
WASHINGTON (AP) - July 23, 2008 The heated exchanges came as Congress held its first hearing on
"don't ask, don't tell" since its enactment 15 years ago.
Although legislation has been introduced to overturn the ban,
the hearing wasn't an attempt to advance the bill, something
supporters say can only happen if Democratic Sen. Barack Obama is
elected president.
Republican Sen. John McCain supports "don't ask, don't tell."
Instead, "our purpose today is to begin a long-overdue review
... and to start a conversation about the real-life impact on our
service members, their families and the operational readiness of
our military," said Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., chair of the House
Armed Services personnel subcommittee.
While there was plenty of conversation, consensus proved elusive
and tempers flared as each side insisted on the moral soundness of
their views.
The policy was intended to keep the military from asking
recruits their sexual orientation, and to prevent servicemembers
from declaring that they are gay or bisexual or engaging in
homosexual activity.
Among the most arresting debates Wednesday came when Rep.
Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., a first-term congressman and the only Iraq
war veteran in Congress, accused a witness of implying that U.S.
service members weren't professional enough to handle serving with
homosexuals.
"You're saying you don't trust our military professionals to
serve openly with people who might be different," Murphy said
angrily to Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military
Readiness, a nonprofit that says it promotes certain military
personnel policies.
"I think that's an insult," Murphy said.
Donnelly denied that, insisting that "forced cohabitation" and
resulting "sexual tension ... will hurt discipline and morale."
"People are human, people have sexual feelings and they're not
perfect," she said. "Prejudice is wrong, but feelings about
sexuality are different."
Donnelly contended that if the law were repealed the number of
HIV-positive service members would probably increase.
Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark., a Vietnam veteran and medical doctor,
called that comment "so inappropriate" and suggested that
Donnelly advocate for the military to recruit only lesbians, who he
said have a low incidence of HIV.
The top Republican on the committee, Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y.,
didn't stake out a position, but said that judgment on "don't ask,
don't tell" must "ultimately rest on matters of military
readiness morale good order and discipline."
Pentagon officials weren't invited to testify after committee
members concluded they wouldn't say anything other than that they'd
follow the law.
Asked Wednesday whether the Pentagon thinks it's appropriate to
re-examine "don't ask, don't tell," Defense Department press
secretary Geoff Morrell said: "I would say only that 'don't ask,
don't tell' remains the law of the land. And to my knowledge, the
department is not advocating a change in policy."
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Associated Press writer Pauline Jelinek contributed to this
report.
