According to The New York Times, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman recently introduced a bill to repeal the ban on openly gay service members in the military. Currently our military adheres to the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy that was introduced as a compromise measure in 1993 by then President Bill Clinton. President Obama desires to make it possible for gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual personnel to openly serve in our armed forces. To actually make this happen there will be a long period of discussion and debate, but in about one year it is possible that we will have a military that makes no distinction between gay and straight. Fellow bloggers, I wonder if your concerns are the same as mine. I understand that whether you are gay or straight you should be treated kindly, genuinely loved, and always respected. The problem is, now that so many gay rights are being advocated, the rights of those who are straight might be ignored. If a straight soldier refuses to use the restroom, or shower alongside a gay soldier, will he be sanctioned? The concern is a legitimate one. Our society today still sees the importance of making a distinction between male and female restrooms, locker rooms, and shower rooms. I'm sure this is because most people feel a certain amount of comfort in knowing that one is in a place where most likely no one will be looking at them in a sensual manner. Because of our human nature, if we were to have joint male and female shower rooms, the shower atmosphere could easily turn into a sensual atmosphere, or at the very least an uncomfortable one for most people. If homosexuality is openly accepted in our military, will our government expect straight and gay men to shower together? If this is the case, will our government see the need to make a distinction between male and female shower rooms? If I were to take a poll among women, I am sure that most of them would not feel comfortable showering in front of some unknown man that most-likely would be sexually attracted to her. Is this not the same feeling that a straight man would have if he were directly or indirectly obligated by his government to shower in front of a gay man? To openly accept gay personnel into our armed forces, is to open up a can of worms, one of which I'm not sure that our government can handle.
The New York Times article that was mentioned can be found at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/us/politics/04military.html
