Politics: The Last Word on ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell?

Now playing: Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V at www.slatev.com.
Politics The Last Word on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" A new study shows repealing it helped the military. By Nathaniel Frank Posted Thursday, Sep 20, 2012, at 11:45 AM ET During the debate over "don't ask, don't tell"—which ended one year ago this week—Sen. John McCain insisted that ending the gay ban would do "great damage" to the military, and the commandant of the Marine Corps said it could "cost Marines' lives." One think-tanker agreed that we'd be taking "a risk with our lives, property and freedom." Another declared breathlessly that, "ultimately all of civilian life will be affected." Then there was the dire prediction that one-quarter of the military, or 500,000 troops, might quit in protest. Underlying the debate were competing moral visions, but the claims over harm to the military were where it often played out, on both sides. Gay rights proponents countered by pointing out that there was never any evidence that openly gay service would hurt the military, and that plenty of research from foreign countries suggested the opposite. Even studies conducted by the U.S. military itself, and by the Government Accountability Office, suggested readiness would not suffer if gays served openly. The trouble was that the research was predictive, not descriptive. No one could actually say for sure what the impact on the military of ending DADT would be. Until now. A new UCLA study, which I co-authored with other academics including military professors from all four U.S. military service academies, has assessed whether ending the gay ban has indeed harmed the armed forces. It hasn't. Our conclusion is that ending the policy "has had no ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate When Did Bare Breasts Become Taboo? The World's Least-Popular Four-Digit PIN: 8068 Parents, Don't Panic Over West Nile	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters subscription: Unsubscribe | Forward to a Friend | Advertising Information
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to slatenewsletter@nl.slate.com. Copyright 2011 The Slate Group | Privacy Policy The Slate Group | c/o E-mail Customer Care | 1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 410 | Washington, D.C. 20036