But in fairness to Ms. D, it must be tough defending the indefensible

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06/28/2007

by Jeremy Hooper

Good As You Images Picture-6-35 1-1 Responding to the news that the National Organization for Women has endorsed a repeal of the extremely flawed, extremely mean-spirited Don't Ask Don't Tell military policy, professional gay ban supporter Elaine Donnelly has this to say to One News Now:

Congress should defeat H.R. 1246 and continue to enforce the ban, says Donnelly. "The law stands on its own," she asserts. "Congress did the right thing in passing [the ban]. It still enjoys overwhelming support, and that is what we need to say, that we support that law."

She notes the ban has been upheld as constitutional several times. "The feminists can make all the noise they want, [but] it's not going to change," she adds

Bold, baseless assertions to which we only have to say:

The ban "still enjoys overwhelming support," huh? Well, clearly Ms. Donnelly must've missed this just-released CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, wherein 79% of poll respondents said openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the military. And she must have disregarded this 2006 Pew Center poll showing that Americans support allowing gays to serve in the military by a 60% majority. Obviously, she also neglected to factor in this 2005 Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military poll, in which seventy-six percent of potential military recruits said that lifting the ban on openly gay service members would have "no effect" on their decision to enlist. Also, she must have overlooked this 2005 Boston Globe poll wherein 79% of respondents said gays should be allowed to serve openly in the military. And we know she glossed over this 2003 CNN/USA Today/ Gallup poll showing that 91% of people aged 18-29, 85% of all women, and 73% of all men were supportive of allowing gays to serve openly. Oh, and let's not forget about this 2003 FOX NEWS(!!) poll showing that 64% of Americans now favor allowing gays to serve openly in the military. Because had Ms. Donnelly consulted the public opinion research that is actually out there, she would've surely realized that it is a repeal of DADT that would actually seem to "enjoy overwhelming support."

But hey, when dealing with policies that truly affect the lives of millions, who needs actual data and facts when you can instead rely on pulled-out-of-your-bum theories that are convenient to a queer-unfriendly cause?