You realize that most of our allies (NATO, ring a bell?, perhaps a little place called Israel?) allow open service by gays and lesbians, right? You also realize that some of those countries troops are reluctant to serve with ours because of the perceived homophobia in our ranks?
Gays and Lesbians have been serving honorably in the armed forces all along. Or do you think the 13000+ folks kicked out under DADT were kicked out because they "pretended" to be gay so that they didn't have to complete their service obligations? Really, the Lt. Col recently processed for separation from the Air Force (the one with the Air Medal, you know one of the highest awards in the military?) after 18 YEARS service just didn't feel like sticking out the 2 years until he was retirement eligible and one day said "screw this, I want out" and proclaimed his gayness?
Assuming that DADT were actually repealed, and regulations set in place allowing open service by gays and lesbians, the only thing that would change is the fact that when Sargent Timothy Jones talked about his date last night he could actually use the correct pronoun, and perhaps could actually bring his significant other to the command picnic without claiming he was bringing a "friend from out of town". In other words, he would actually be able to live up to the "honor" core values associated with military service by being honest in all aspects of his life.
There are currently regulations in place that govern the behavior of personnel in their relationships, these regulations apply to relationships between all military members regarding what is and is not an allowable interaction between ranks, between unit members, between officers and enlisted, between enlisted members, between males and females and between services. There are regulations regarding whom may have business dealings with whom, when, and where. There are regulations regarding the use of base housing, base car washes and gas stations. At one point in time there were regulations regarding when a service member could marry (at one point in time one could get into trouble for not asking for permission to marry). These regulations in place governing the behavior of service members activities ranging from political and other free speech activities to how a service member wears his mustache apply to all service members, and would equally govern the behavior of (and currently DO govern the behavior of) gay and lesbian troops serving in the military. The only thing that changes is the fact that those rough and tough "buff bad*** super soldiers" that are hetero would know that Sargent Timothy Jones is dating Mr. Frank Smith, not Ms. Francine Smith. Or do you think that those sensitive heteros won't be able to handle the truth about their Sargent?
