Homosexuality and Military Service (Merged thread)

[motorfirebox]

I'm going to defer to Infanteer on the topic of combat viability. (Mostly because he agrees with me )

All right, what value does ending DA/DT provide?

Equality. It is inarguable that gay soldiers receive unequal treatment in the military under DADT. Our founding documents make it clear that equality is a virtue in and of itself.

Where is this right found? I haven't seen it anywhere. Or are you arguing that there should be a right to serve.

Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. The 9th Amendment applies, here. The reason the 9th Amendment exists is that the Founding Fathers feared that creating a specific list of rights could be taken as an exclusion of any rights not listed. Being denied entry into any government enterprise based on opinion of personal choices, rather than any actual deleterious effects related to entry, seems like exactly what the 9th Amendment was included to prevent.

I simply do not understand this. I cannot fathom how anyone thinks integrating females into combat arms and the repeal of DADT are in any way the linked. 82 already responded appropriately, but this seems to be a developing trend and it worries the hell out of me.

I was mainly responding to JMA's assertion that the main reason to bar openly gay soldiers from serving is that it would create sexual tension.