Iraq and Afghanistan Vets Love Them Some Gay Troops

by Michael Jones · 2010-03-17 13:48:00 UTC
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Guess which influential constituency sees no problem with openly gay folks serving in the U.S. military? Survey says ....

Iraq and Afghanistan veterans! And not just by a slim majority, but by overwhelming numbers. According to the poll, released today, 60 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans believe that a person's sexual orientation has no bearing on their ability to serve the U.S. military. Beyond that, 73 percent of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan say that it's personally acceptable for openly gay troops to serve in the military.

The poll was conducted by the Vet Voice Foundation. And lest anti-gay opponents think this is some liberal poll paid for by Dennis Kucinich, Michael Moore and Rachel Maddow, let's quickly note that the poll was held in conjunction with both Republican and Democratic pollsters. And even better? Most of the respondents identified as Republicans.

The two polling firms at the heart of the poll, Lake Research Partners and American Viewpoint, Inc., concluded that "an overwhelming majority of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are comfortable around gay and lesbian people, believe that being gay or lesbian has no bearing on a service member's ability to perform their duties, and would find it acceptable if gay and lesbian people were allowed to serve openly in the military."

That's huge. These are the most recent veterans we have; folks who have their pulse on current military culture and know the ins and outs (and the politics) of current military service. And they're sending the overwhelming message that if "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" bites the dust, the sky won't fall.

Jon Soltz, the co-founder of VoteVets.org, says this poll reflects exactly what most Americans already know about their military.

"This poll proves what we all know to be true -- our military is the most professional organization that the world has ever known. Those who wear the uniform can handle change," Soltz writes. "And, in this case, not only will service members abide by a repeal, but they'll largely accept it and move on to the task at hand."

Yes, believe it or not, most folks could care less about the sexual orientation of their coworkers, or in this case, their co-troops. What really matters is whether the person has integrity, not whether they love someone of the same gender.

Photo credit: The National Guard

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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