The most provocative moment from last Thursday night's Republican presidential primary debate came when a few members of the crowd booed an openly gay soldier for asking whether he would have to hide his sexuality under a future, Republican administration.
Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), to whom the question was addressed, responded that he would reinstate "don't ask, don't tell," the federal policy that prohibited LGBT individuals from serving openly in the military. And when pressed on the matter after the debate ended, the Pennsylvania Republican argued that repeal of the policy had been harmful for those gay soldiers as well.
"We executed a policy that I think was detrimental to everyone, including them, in my opinion because sex and sexual preference should not be an issue in the military, period," he said. "And it should not be something that is demonstrated in any shape or form in the military. And it shows how much our culture has changed that this is even a subject to be debated within the military."
Santorum didn't elaborate on how allowing open service was detrimental for gay soldiers. He did, however, say that he "would grandfather in people who, because of the [DADT repeal] policy, came out." "It's not their fault," he said. Source: http://huff.to/pvegYX
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW GAYTWOGETHER PLUS on FaceBook --> http://ow.ly/68ko3
Comments