Together, these trends reveal an important shift in attitudes on the service of gay men and lesbians in the military. When the policy was established, none of the three positions had majority support among Americans. Forty-four percent supported open service, 37 opposed any service, and 19 percent supported allowing gay men and lesbians to serve only if they did not reveal their sexual orientation. Today, one position has emerged as the clear preference of the majority of Americans. Seventy-five percent of Americans support open service, 17 oppose any service, and only 8 percent support the compromise position of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
via NYTimes.com – Public Opinion on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’. In addition:
Allowing gay troops to serve openly in the US military would carry only a low risk to fighting ability, a Pentagon study has found.
via BBC News – Pentagon study ‘backs allowing gays to serve openly. So the public supports allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve and now the military says there’s really nothing wrong with it.
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