No 'coming out party' for gays in the military

By Marsha West

The radical Left's effort to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), a law that bans homosexuals from serving openly in the military, has failed. On September 21 the Senate Democrats were unable to achieve the 60 vote threshold to get cloture which was needed to advance a Defense Authorization bill. Democrats included the repeal provision in the bill. The bill authorizes $726 billion in military spending for next year and includes $159 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a pay raise for the troops.

Stealthy Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) included this and other partisan amendments to the bill that would have eventually become law. One amendment allowed for abortions to be performed on military bases, another, the DREAM Act, would allow the children of immigrants who entered the country illegally to become U.S. citizens. DREAM Act sponsor Sen. Dick Durbin (D) has sent a new version to the Senate floor so that the bill can be ready for a stand-alone vote or as an amendment to a future bill.

Sen. John McCain chided the Majority Leader for the "unfortunate and growing politicization of the National Defense Authorization Act." He also told Harry, "I regret to see that the long-respected and revered Senate Armed Services Committee has evolved into a forum for a social agenda of the liberal left of the Senate."

Although this is a major victory for the military, the victory may be short-lived. Sen. Joe Lieberman, who supports repeal despite the fact that there is ample evidence that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would heighten tension, erode morale, and have a negative impact or recruitment and retention, warned, "This ain't over."

Sen. Reid will push for reconsideration of the legislation later this year.

Robert Knight, senior writer for Coral Ridge Ministries, raised the possibility that Reid did not intended to win the vote. Knight thinks tacking on controversial provisions "is like asking for it to be rejected." He intimated that the real reason Sen. Reid brought the bill to a vote was to appeal to Democrat abortion backers, homosexual groups and Latino voters before they vote in the November elections.

Penny Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for America doesn't believe it's over yet. She said, "I believe this issue will come up again. We are going to be cautious, but optimistic, and we will continue to be on guard."

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council agrees. He commented:

"When the issue does resurface the Marines will have a new face in the fray. With General James Conway's term almost up, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has tapped General James Amos to take over as Marine Commandant. Yesterday, Conway's successor-to-be was grilled by members of the Senate Armed Services Committee in a hearing where, for an entire hour, not a single issue was discussed except gays in the military. Proving just how misplaced the Left's priorities are, important questions on things like Marine warfare, Iraq strategy, and our role in Afghanistan all took a backseat to the General's opinion on homosexuals in the military. Instead of pressing the nominee on his experience or vision for the Corps, liberals seemed obsessed with his position on homosexuality."

General Amos told the Committee:

"In my personal view, the current law and associated policy have supported the unique requirements of the Marine Corps, and thus I do not recommend its repeal." He also said that changing the policy at this juncture would "serve as a distraction to Marines who are tightly focused at this point on combat operations in Afghanistan."

Not surprisingly, General Amos' expert opinion fell on deaf ears as 54 Senate liberals chose to ignore his advice and voted for cloture on the Defense Authorization bill.

In July Secretary of Defense Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen urged service members to complete a survey on DADT. The survey went out to 400,000 active and reserve troops and asks them to give their views on the policy and how they would feel if homosexuals are allowed to serve openly. Gates said, "I think it is very important for us to understand from our men and women in uniform the challenges that they see."

In 1992 President Bill Clinton sought to repeal the prohibition of homosexuals serving openly in the military but his plan did not have the support of the American people much less the military. The DADT policy was a compromise that has served relatively well over the last two decades.

In 2004 the Log Cabin Republicans, a group of homosexual RINOs (Republicans In Name Only), filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to stop the U.S. military's ban. Recently a Federal judge in California declared from the bench that DADT is unconstitutional and that she will issue an order to stop the government from enforcing it. What the Left fails to win in Congress they try to control from the courts.

Radical "gay" activists, who are the ones pushing for the normalization of sodomy, view the military as a means to an end. These people are fully aware that this sort of social experiment is likely to have unintended and unforeseen consequences, none of which are in the best interest of the military.

For those of us that are paying attention and care about this issue, now is a time to celebrate. "Faced with a liberal supermajority, a White House doggedly determined to reinvent the military, and entertainers who used their platform to step on the troops, this is a huge victory for our military and all that they stand for. That doesn't mean the fight is over. It just means that the question will fade into the background until after the election, when Democrats, fueled by what may be monumental losses, will decide whether to use the lame-duck session to exact revenge or not."

Meanwhile homosexuals are on the warpath against the Catholic Church. Bill Donohue of the Catholic League released this statement:

"On June 1, Archbishop Broglio released an excellent statement recounting the Catholic Church's opposition to homosexuality. He called on Catholic chaplains in the armed forces to show respect for the dignity of homosexuals, but he also implored them to 'never condone — even silently — homosexual behavior.'

"On September 17, a new dissident group, Catholics for Equality, wrote a letter to the archbishop that was not only critical of his Catholic position, it reeked with smugness and arrogance: 'We are ready to help you and Catholic chaplains in the transition to full acceptance of gays and lesbians in the military and respectfully request a meeting with you....' So thoughtful of these malcontents to offer their help in transitioning the bishop to oppose the Catholic Church's teachings on sexuality."

Donohue went on to say:

"While any group can slap the label Catholic on itself, bona fide Catholics are under no obligation to acknowledge it. And by bona fide, I simply mean Catholics not in open rebellion against the teachings of the Magisterium."

Here's a September 24 OneNewsNow.com headline:

CDC report accurate, but ignores truth

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released some startling statistics on homosexuality and HIV.

The study, announced Thursday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found one in five active homosexual and bisexual men is infected with HIV — and nearly half of those infected do not know it. The study is considered the largest to look at urban homosexual and bisexual men at high risk for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, comments on how the government agency's study reflects accuracy — but ignores the truth.

"This is just the latest study showing the incredible health risks of men who have sex with men. Homosexuality is a very dangerous lifestyle, especially for men," he points out. "And yet the CDC will not do the one basic thing that it can do to really limit it — which is to do everything it can to teach men not to have sex with other men."

Three days later CNSNews.com reports:

Health Care Law Includes Millions of Dollars for HIV/AIDS Prevention

The physician who oversees prevention of sexually transmitted diseases for the federal Centers for Disease Control said the funding announced on Friday will support "innovative, evidence-based, and high-impact prevention efforts."

The CNS News story informs us how our hard earned tax dollars will be spent:

"This funding will give a critical boost to our HIV/AIDS prevention efforts across the country," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "By focusing on communities and geographic areas that have been hardest hit by this disease, these critical investments will make a real impact on prevention efforts — a key part of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy."

Kevin Fenton, the physician who oversees prevention of sexually transmitted diseases for the federal Centers for Disease Control, said the funding announced on Friday will support "innovative, evidence-based, and high-impact prevention efforts."

The Food and Drug Administration — in a brochure on condoms and sexually transmitted diseases — was able to sum up prevention strategies in three sentences: It says the surest way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, is either to abstain from sex altogether; limit sex to one monogamous partner; and/or use condoms correctly.

According to the FDA, about two-thirds of the people with AIDS in the United States got the disease during sexual intercourse with an infected partner. "Experts believe that many of these people could have avoided the disease by using condoms," the brochure says.

They didn't use a condom because "barebacking" is once again in vogue. Why? Because the gay community has the mistaken idea that HIV/AIDS is curable and if they get it it's manageable. According to "southern gay writer" Chris Rudisill:

"A quick search of some adult blogs and you will quickly find many from self-identified "bug-catchers" who glorify how many times they've had unprotected sex. While the sites may provide fantasy for some, they can also provide fuel, especially to the raging young man who is seeking that risk factor and excitement in his sex life. ... From 2001 to 2006, the number of new HIV diagnoses in men younger than 30 who had sex with other men increased by 33 percent, according to city health officials in New York City, which has the highest rate of HIV infection in the country. The most shocking news was that the group with the fastest-growing rates of HIV infection was made up of men between the ages of 13 and 19, for "whom HIV diagnoses doubled between 2001 and 2006," according to preliminary data from the city's Department of Heath and Mental Hygiene."

The average age for enlistment in the military is 19.5.

Now more from the article that appeared in One News Now:

But according to LaBarbera, there are those at the CDC and in Congress who will use the study for another purpose — which he points out has failed. "...They will use this to say we need greater awareness programs for men who have sex with men," he predicts."

LaBarbera's prediction was right on the money. And speaking of money, the American taxpayers will have to spend billions on a preventable disease. As LaBarbera reminds us:

"They're telling men to get tested every 3 to 6 months — [but] when you're living a lifestyle which requires you to get tested for a very serious, even life-threatening disease, every 3 to 6 months, the real message that our government should be giving these men is 'don't practice this lifestyle.'"

All the PC do-gooders who insist that the military accept homosexuals, despite the health risks, should at the very least consider the financial cost to taxpayers. The CDCs study makes it clear that "gay" sex is unsafe.

One last comment. In our PC society gone mad, we worry far more about the rights of homosexuals and bisexuals than about the rights of heterosexual military personnel.

Reference material on homosexuality

© Marsha West