Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

A new Pentagon report says the long-standing ban on openly gay Americans serving in the military could be lifted with minimal disruption to unit cohesion and retention in the short run. And “longer term, with a continued and sustained commitment to core values of leadership, professionalism, and respect for all. . .the U.S. military can adjust and accommodate this change, just as it has others in history.” Seventy-percent of service members surveyed believe that lifting the ban would have a positive, mixed, or inconsequential impact on their units. The report says that while moral and religious objections to homosexuality should be taken seriously, many fears are groundless.