Don't Ask Me...

Ok, I've given this a few days to settle down and yet more and more fuel is added to this hot furnace of a topic. The "Don't Ask Don't Tell" (DADT) policy has been ended by a Federal Judge which effectively allows homosexuals to be open about who they are in the military. This sparked thousands of blog posts on the ethical repercussions of such an act. Word spread to the soldiers and their reaction was pretty much "Who the fuck cares." Well the big news is THEIR COMMANDER AND CHIEF cares. The Obama Administration has officially appealed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Ruling. While this presidential cockblock was not unexpected, it was against his campaign promise during the 2008 election to "work with congress" on repealing DADT.

So why all the hate on gays Mr. President? According to Fenuxe.com he only wanted to go through congress and other legal channels and not let the courts have the overriding say in matter. But why is that such a big issue for him?

While we think on that, let's go to the street and find out what they think about this:

POLL: What is your opinion on the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy that was until today enforced in the military? Should homosexuals hide who they are?

"No. No one should care about sexual orientation. We need to hold our armed forces to a higher standard. They have more important things to think about. If they can't handle fighting next to a homosexual, then I don't trust them with a gun, expensive equipment or my life."
- Kim V.

"No, why should our military care whether or not a person is homosexual, do they care if a person is black or white? No, they don't. If they are fit and can pass basic then they have every right to serve just like anyone else. If those around them can't handle that then it's their problem."
- Sharon V.

"I think this topic is a bit deeper than this. Should anyone be forced to hide anything about themselves? No. But we are still not in a time where homosexuals (especially men) can feel completely safe and open about that part of their lif...estyle. While I feel that recent "bullying" has been heralded in the wrong light. It does remind us that much of the nation has still not accepted the gay community. Do I think anyone should be forced to hide something about themself? No. But in a group of testosterone charged young men that may exhibit a certain level of intolerance. It might be wise to hide it. It is hard to say if the best plan of attack in this situation is facing it head on and accepting the backlash or hiding it and working more slowly toward acceptance of that lifestyle."
- Eric H.

Of course I also felt the need to chime in on this topic after the last poll response came in:

"Eric's stance is similar to my stance as well. While we like to think the nation has progressed, it really hasn't that much as shown by all these bannings of gay marriage and majority votes to keep it that way. You can't expect the military to handle it differently."
- Me

What I find most surprising is the President's move in the matter. If he was to keep his promise on the campaign trail, all he would have had to do is let the ruling be. Why did he do this?