Most Support DADT Repeal, But Tea Party Opposed

A survey released Monday finds strong support for allowing openly gay and lesbian soldiers to serve in the military, but key groups that traditionally support Republicans oppose the idea.

The survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, shows that 58% of adults favor allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly, whereas 27% said they opposed allowing it. A majority of both men and women, as well as both Democrats and independents also support allowing open service.

Currently, gays and lesbians are permitted to serve in the military under the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy only if they do not publicly reveal their sexuality.

According the poll, Republicans are divided on whether to allow open service by gays and lesbians -- 40% of Republicans favor it and 44% oppose. Perhaps as important, key groups likely to have an influence on Republican policies are even more opposed to allowing open service. The Pew report notes that among those who said they "agree with the Tea Party" only 38% favor and 48% oppose allowing open servece. Similarly, only 34% of white evangelical Protestants favor and 48% oppose allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly. Lack of Republican support could prevent the Obama administration from ending the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, especially if Congress doesn't vote on ending the policy before the end of this year's lame-duck session.

Ending the policy during a lame-duck session may not be popular even if a majority do support repeal, however -- a recent McClatchy Company poll by Marist College found that registered voters were divided on repealing the policy during the current Congress, with 47% saying the current Democratic Congress should repeal the policy and 48% saying they should not repeal it "so they continue to serve but not openly." Another recent poll by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal found that 50% of adults supported allowing open service but 48% either supported continuing the current policy or not permitting service at all when explicitly offered those options.

The Pew poll was conducted Nov. 4-7 among 1,255 adults, and had a 3.5% margin of error. Results among subgroups have a higher margin of error.

Comments

[juliebird]

06:55 PM on 12/03/2010

Would the TEA Baggers please explain how DADT is an example of small government, of government letting people enjoy their constitutional rights, and of good fiscal policy (training and then expelling gay soldiers is expensive, y'all!)?

[Lisa Spurgeon Bullock]

04:35 PM on 12/03/2010

I propose a Don't Ask, Don't Tell rule to the tea partiers! They can keep their comments to themselves and would be better off not revealing how bigoted and ignorant they are.

[Larry Motuz]

04:47 PM on 12/03/2010

Faved and fanned.

[Scott Zwartz]

09:20 PM on 11/30/2010

Tea baggers do not favor the inalienable and constitutional right of Liberty. The only Liberty many tea baggers recognize is their right to be bigots.

[Big Game Hunter]

06:28 PM on 11/30/2010

Some original photos of the first tea parties here:
http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/9623/theoriginalteaparty.jpg

[NCEngineer]

12:52 PM on 11/30/2010

Simple solution.. let all the gays leave the military and take high paying corporate jobs and send all the tea partiers into the armed services.. problem solved.

[purplet]

09:09 PM on 11/30/2010

great idea-

[sue denim]

12:36 PM on 11/30/2010

More proof that the Tea Baggers are GOP hard right wingers redux. This issue has absolutely nothing to do with deficit reduction. Message to Tea Baggers: you are more effective with moderates and Independents when you stick to deficit reduction and not when you stray into the old-politics-of-hate, again.

[Threepointturn]

12:40 PM on 11/30/2010

Be wary Tea Bagger Klan or everyone will think you are the base of the GOP in sheep's clothing.

[jaws810]

01:41 PM on 11/30/2010

I don't think that DADT has to do with hating gays, they should be allowed to serve without any special treatment or advantages which would not be possible the second DADT is repealed. The second that DADT is repealed the gays in the military will be considered a special class and given special treatment or they could cause problems within their units because many openly gay people will use the fact that they are gay to be the reason for any problems that they have and there are some gay haters in the military. I think it's better for the armed forces not to know that way they just do their job without any issues that segregation could cause. Why does it matter they are soldiers who gladly defend their country, Women and blacks worked hard to be treated as equals in the military and now the gays want to be exposed and treated as equals, I'd leave well enough alone because it will take years for gays in the military to be treated as every other soldier, they'll be treated differently because they are different and proud to be different.
It would be fine for anyone who wants to serve in non-combat support/ training roles and wants to stay in the military for life. That way they could fight in DADT status then take a non-combat position where they could have an open relationship and all the benefits married soldiers get without distracting anyone on the battlefield.

[purplet]

10:50 PM on 11/30/2010

I don't think that DADT has to do with hating gays, Where should I start- Gays and pregnant single women shouldn't be teachers- the AG in Virginia took out protections for sexual orientation in employment - There are so many examples of how they discriminate and dislike gay people-

[Stephanie Beavers]

03:47 AM on 12/01/2010

Right now if a male solider announces that he has a girlfriend, it's all cool, but if he announces that he has a boyfriend he can be discharged from the service. If a black solider announces he is dating a white woman, well, that would be a weird sort of announcement but they still couldn't kick him out. If a female solider says she's getting engaged to her boyfriend, that's all well and good. However, if she should dare be in love with a women and has a picture of them two of them at their commitment ceremony by her bedside? That's an instant ticket back to civilian life.

You don't want some soldiers allowed special treatment, you say. I assume you feel that way for all soldiers. So, how is THAT not special treatment for straight soldiers?

[CTDFalconer]

12:27 PM on 11/30/2010

This just in: New poll says most people think the ocean is wet.

Hardly surprising that a bunch of radical right wing types favor DADT.

[shryock]

12:32 PM on 11/30/2010

"This just in: New poll says most people think the ocean is wet."
"but key groups that traditionally support Republicans oppose the idea."

[CTDFalconer]

12:42 PM on 11/30/2010

"It's about time we stand up for our rights to a dry ocean!" said an anonymous spokesman.

[doctor4kids]

11:47 AM on 11/30/2010

I thought the Tea Party shied away from "social issues".

[Tails]

12:33 PM on 11/30/2010

That's just a tagline during campaigns.

[jaws810]

01:49 PM on 11/30/2010

Social issues are not the official focus of the TEA Party but if asked individually everyone has an opinion and most of the country is center right which means that most Americans are socially moderate or socially conservative and would likely support DADT which is a conservative view.

[doctor4kids]

04:15 PM on 11/30/2010

"most of the country is center right". I'm not so sure about that. I like to think that most of us consider each issue on its merit rather than just go with what "most Americans" think. The issues that face our country are far more complex than just left, right, center.

[Stephanie Beavers]

03:51 AM on 12/01/2010

Most of the conservatives I know think that America is the greatest nation on Earth (despite my argument that this is a very subjective - never mind, different topic) and that any US citizen that wants to defend her has the right to do so, regardless of race, religion, even sexual preference. Because when it comes down to it, allowing gays to serve in the military is neither fiscally conservative nor liberal. Maybe I just know a bunch of really reasonable conservatives.

[joefargo]

11:17 AM on 11/30/2010

"Lack of Republican support could prevent the Obama administration from ending the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, especially if Congress doesn't vote on ending the policy before the end of this year's lame-duck session."

Huh? Without "Republican support" Dems may attempt to convince us that a vote is futile. The pattern of declaring too little support to vote allows members to stay off-the-record.

Tea Party guys don't want this because they fear being prey to those big brutish gays.

[BobEvansZombie]

10:47 AM on 11/30/2010

Tea Partiers also think Obama is a Marxists, fascist, communist, Maoist, anti-colonial Keynesian, Muslim, terrorist.

And they also think water fountains should be re-segregated.

[bogey1]

11:19 AM on 11/30/2010

and Kenyan

[Tails]

10:37 AM on 11/30/2010

Really? Is anyone surprised by this? Anyone?

[stav506]

12:14 PM on 11/30/2010

About as surprised as I am every morning when I notice that the sky is blue.

So, basically, no.

[rflctammt]

10:22 AM on 11/30/2010

Isn't there some kool-aide we can give to these folks that will let them go on pretending the policy is DADT while the rest of the country can get on with things? It's pretty clear that as years go by and the problems of the world stack up, most of us are more than happy to settle for "Don't Ask, Don't Care."

Anyone willing to put their life on the line (with honorable intentions, of course) for the good of the country is a hero in my book.

[hmoats]

10:11 AM on 11/30/2010

In other news, the sky is blue.

I find it funny that a group supposedly for small government is so keen on having said government tell people who they should and shouldn't love. So our leaders shouldn't fight obesity but since homosexuality is sinful and icky, that's okay.

[rflctammt]

10:15 AM on 11/30/2010

So true...
not to mention the "small government" folks wanting government to police, apprehend and detain all dark-skinned, potentially, possibly, remotely likely "illegals" regardless of constitutional rights...

[BobEvansZombie]

10:48 AM on 11/30/2010

Like Jon Stewart said. They are for small government unless it's for s**t that they wanna do.

[Trogenhorse]

10:05 AM on 11/30/2010

It's time to work on the economy. Take the vote pass it and get to the next issue. Sorry, but the continuous arguments over a policy that was only meant to be a stop gap measure is getting to be too much. DADT was enacted at a time when America was not okay with the changes they saw in the society. Years later, more than half of America doesn't care or doesn't see what the big deal is. That's just a fact.
As an ADD society, the first concern is self. Economy and the threat of extending conflicts is the greatest concern in our country now.
Take the vote!!!

[MadMaddie]

09:59 AM on 11/30/2010

So called small govt people being opposed to the govt getting out of people's lives?
I'm simply shocked, shocked I tell ya!
Uhm... not so much.
Here's another example of Teabillie hypocrisy:
A house not so far from mine has a giant "Don't Tread On Me" Gadsen flag flying on their porch.
While driving my 2nd grader to school, whad'ya think I saw at the Gadsden flag house?
A Head Start bus picking up 2 little ones.
Guess all that evil federal money is A-okay when it comes to their family being loaned a helping hand, huh?