A House subcommittee met July 23 to re-examine the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for the first time in 15 years, the Chicago Tribune reports (chicagotribune.com, 7/24).
A heated topic of discussion during the two and a half hour debate was whether allowing gays to serve openly might increase HIV prevalence among service members. This assertion was made by Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness, which opposes gays serving openly in the military.
Rep. Vic Snyder (D–AR) debunked Donnelly’s argument, calling it “inappropriate.” He added that under such logic “you ought to recruit only lesbians to the military because they have the lowest incidence of HIV.”
