(CNN) -- Now is not the time to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the U.S. armed forces, Sen. John McCain said at a hearing Thursday.
"At this time, we should be inherently cautious about making any changes that would affect our military, and what changes we do make should be the product of careful and deliberate consideration," the Arizona Republican said at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
His position is not that the law should never be changed, he said, but that "it may be premature to make such a change at this time and in this manner."
In contrast, Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged that the repeal be signed into law as soon as possible, to avoid the issue being taken up again by the judiciary, where a repeal of the ban could be ordered immediately, rather than on the military's timetable. A judicial fiat would be "hazardous," he added.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, said he believes that even among those combat forces, a transition to a new law is possible.
"Should repeal occur, some soldiers and Marines may want separate shower facilities. Some may ask for different berthing. Some may even quit the service. We'll deal with that. But I believe, and history tells, that most of them will put aside personal proclivities for something larger than themselves and for each other," he said.
My Opinion
First, I think it is very funny that my very blog post was about Senator McCain and my very last post coincidentally is about him too. However, in my first blog post I criticized him on his policy views toward immigration. I have matured since then. I will not criticize him on this, because I don't believe his views towards this issue are wrong. I feel like he is being reasonable on this and is just looking out for the safety of the country. Not that he was not looking out for the safety of the country with the immigration issue, but I believe his beliefs on this issue are more noble than the ones from immigration.
He believes that the DADT policy should not be repealed because it may affect our military conditions. In a sense I believe he is right. There are a lot of people who strongly oppose gays and lesbians. Somewhere in the military some of these people exist. So, I just think he is looking out for the safety of the country, and the safety of those troops who are gay or lesbian.
On the other hand, I also agree with Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen. I have no military experience, neither does anyone in my family so I speak for myself when I say this. I believe that in the military is not about being gay, lesbian, straight, Black, White, Latino, or Asian. I believe that in the military a brotherhood exist. I believe that each and every one of those soldiers will have each other's back at any given moment. Like the soldier who recently received the medal of honor, with his story I highly doubt that if his wounded brother was gay that he wouldn't have returned for him. I think that if that soldier who eventually died was openly gay then he would have still went back for him. At least I would.
I think that the media could play a little bit more of a role in this issue. They could interview soldiers about how they would feel if this policy was repealed. That way the world could see that it is not about being gay or lesbian, but about staying alive. In this sense I agree with McCain when he said he was bothered that the soldiers did not get asked how they felt about this. They wouldn't care, they probably know already who is gay and who is not.
Closing Commentary
Welp, just like my first post I will end this one with a few comments. It's been fun blogging this semester, I have learned a lot. Reading you guy's blogs has kept me informed with the many stories that I don't keep up with. Just like I said before, our mission entering this class was to get out with an "A." I hope we all do that, and we all succeed in the future, and also thanks to Dr. DeWitt for a fun semester. My fellow classmates, good luck the rest of the way with your education/ professional career, and life. I wish you all the best, and many blessing your ways.
Over and OUT!!!
-Hector Rojas
No comments:
Post a Comment