Military won't even notice when gay ban ends, expert testifies

Military won't even notice when gay ban ends, expert testifies
By Rob Carson | The News Tribune
Posted on Friday, September 17, 2010

If Congress decides to let gay men and lesbians serve openly in the U.S. military, the reaction among the vast majority of soldiers is likely to be a big collective yawn, a leading historian said Thursday.

Nathaniel Frank, a prominent gay rights advocate and author of "Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America," testified Thursday at Maj. Margaret Witt’s lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.

He was called as an expert witness to support Witt's lawsuit against the U.S. Air Force.

Frank cited dozens of studies of other countries that have incorporated gays into their fighting forces, including Canada, Great Britain, Israel, Germany and Sweden.

In every case, he said, fears about weakened unit cohesion, falling morale, dropping recruitment rates and heightened harassment and violence preceded the change. Instead, he said, the transitions went so smoothly, people were left wondering what the big deal had been.

I think you are right on this. They just can't let go of the hate and ignorance.