Should there be a don't ask - don't tell policy for Senator sexual orientation?

[Boojatta]

If a Senator made a personal claim on that topic, then he or she would be violating the "don't tell" rule.

Of course, I don't propose that the rule be imposed retroactively. For example, if somebody who has a habit of flashing his or her Senate ID card to police officers already made a personal sexual orientation claim then there would be no penalty for him or her.

[liberal N proud]

1. It is not their sexual orientation that I am worried about

It is their hypocrisy.
Additionally, in the Craig matter he was wanting to have sex in a public restroom. In public where any little boy who needed to use the restroom could have seen it.

Why is no one talking about that? It would make him a sexual predator.

[soothsayer]

5. actually i think you generally have sex in a stall, not in front of a little boy

or a big man. sometimes you stand inside a shopping bag so folks only see one set of feet. i don't think it's often done out in the open. i reckon mostly you don't even realize it's happening.

[liberal N proud]

6. But what about that little boy in there with his father and ask

What are those two men doing in one stall.

Glad I don't have little boys to explain that one.

[Kelly Rupert]

2. Senators should be allowed to claim homosexuality or heterosexuality,

and I don't think that asking a Senator regarding his orientation--or discussing it--in event of possible hypocrisy is problematic. Investigations? Certainly not; they deserve privacy as much as anyone else.

[azurnoir]

3. really there should be a

Who the fu*k cares or it's none of your business policy.

[Hekate]

4. Public servants deserve private lives, EXCEPT at the intersection of public policy and hypocrisy

I have had it up to here with so-called conservatives who not only preach "family values" but try to legislate the missionary position (and by extension a lot else) for the entire rest of the world.

At this point I am ready to say that if an elected official is doing that while whoring around, just out the bastard. :grr:

At least Bill Clinton wasn't trying to pass laws promoting the sanctity of marriage and restricting adult sexual activity while he was behaving so foolishly. That definitely was a case where his private life should have been a matter for himself and his wife alone to sort out. (One is tempted to say let sleeping dogs lie, considering how we call him the Big Dog around here.)

Hekate

[Lilith Velkor]

7. Who would be constrained from asking?

The press?

To whom would a Senator be forbidden to make a personal claim?

I suspect this poll is bollocks.

[Boojatta]

8. I will rely on your knowledge of the military "don't ask - don't tell" policy.

Is it illegal for a journalist to ask someone employed by the US military about his or her sexual orientation? If not, then I'm not sure why you would you propose such an interpretation of "don't ask" when it comes to a Senator. If it is illegal, then I'm wondering whether the ACLU has taken up this potential violation of freedom of speech.

I would suppose that "don't ask" would mean that no governmental authority (such as another Senator who is asking in his or her capacity as a Senator) may ask. Of course, there might be some exceptional circumstances such as a trial of some sort. A judge might allow a question along those lines.

"Don't tell" would presumably mean that the Senator may not tell his or her sexual orientation to anyone who is represented by the Senator. Thus, before telling, the Senator would have to confirm that no one receiving the information directly from the Senator is represented by the Senator and also enter into legally binding nondisclosure agreements with all who receive the information directly from the Senator.

[Toasterlad]

9. Um...What?

Since "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" by it's very nature promotes the idea that homosexuality is something shameful, why would you possibly think it would be okay to inflict it on anyone else?

[LostinVA]

10. So, straight senators can live open lives, but the gay ones all have to stay in the closet?

Oh brother. That is one of the most asinine things I've ever read on DU.

And don't argue otherwise, because that is EXACTLY what "don't ask, don't tell means."

By saying this, you're also condoning the ridiculous DADT policy in the US military.

[Boojatta]

11. I think it's common sense that a Senator who has a same-sex

spouse would be exempted from the "don't ask - don't tell" policy. Marriage is a matter of public record.

Is it better to create pressure for Senators (and thus inevitably others as well sooner or later) to be able to enter into official same-sex marriages or is it better to maintain a system that arbitrarily imposes a special restriction on one group of people: those who actually defend America?

If influential people who are Senators or friends or relatives of Senators appreciate that the policy is somewhat burdensome, then pressure could develop for the military "don't ask - don't tell" policy to be revoked.