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I don't care about homosexuals in the sense of their sexuality. It's their business, and doesn't affect me directly. I would have an opinion ONLY if it were someone in my own family, and even then my opinion is just that... an opinion. What I think shouldn't affect another person's sex choices with respect to gender. From a position of theoretical enlightened self-interest, I should approve of male homosexuality (takes men out of the contest for available women), and should be against female homosexual (reduces the number of potential women available to me). In practice, the vast majority of women would reject me for their own good reasons other than homosexuality, and the vast majority homosexual men would probably find me unattractive for many reasons. I'm a realist on that point; homosexuality just isn't an issue for me in my life.
BUT I cannot say I think a soldier who is uncomfortable serving beside a homosexual is being unreasonable. I'm comfortable with homosexuals and don't see them as a threat, but not everyone agrees with me, nor should they. If I don't like the situation I'm in, I leave without a second thought.
The military is a big exception to this. You don't have the option of walking away from an uncomfortable situation. The penalty is for doing so is very severe. In that light, in a volunteer army, it strikes me you are imposing an unacceptable condition on your personnel.
I realise a soldier may be ordered into a life-threatening situation, and that might be disconcerting to many people, but it's always a definite possibility within the armed forces. You are trained to be ready for and to deal with it. If having a homosexual beside you and you find that to be a problem, it is a problem to the entire outfit. If it affects your judgement or reactions in any way, it can affect more than just yourself.
On that basis I'm against don't ask, don't tell. It should be ask, tell, and anyone who cannot deal with it should be discharged. Might greatly reduce the size of your military, but at least the problem is dealt with.
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The secret to great marksmanship is deciding what the target was AFTER you've shot.
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