It’s been an interesting few weeks and months. There are many things that have occurred in the social policy world that should give all of us cause for great optimism. Such things as the state of Nebraska’s new “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” Brazil’s President pledging not to decriminalize abortion or personally support anything that would negatively impact families or religious freedoms, the successful lawsuit by the San Diego firefighters who were forced to work at a gay parade””all of these show the power of citizens who get involved and stand strong for families and traditional values.
Unfortunately we also live in a time when same-sex advocates and the courts have turned up the heat on the U.S. military, on churches, and on businesses. We’ve seen efforts to malign Target Corp., we’ve seen the Human Rights Campaign up the ante on forcing companies to pay for transgendered surgery insurance, and we’ve seen various churches and their leadership openly attacked.
It’s disheartening and rather shocking how aggressive and abusive the proponents of the homosexual agenda have grown in the past few years. As they call for “equality,” “acceptance,” and “tolerance” they simultaneously attack free speech, freedom of religion, and most aggressively, they attack traditional families. While this hypocrisy is ever apparent to the layperson, the media has seemed to overlook it, touting the moral high ground of the homosexual agenda and similarly fostering negativity toward traditional values.
But sadly, the media isn’t the only one politicizing things that should remain unbiased–so is the United States Congress. While most of what Congress does is by definition political, there are a few important things that should remain bi-partisan, one of those important things being support for troops in combat overseas. But, once again the aggressive and selfish nature of the homosexual agenda is prevailing over the safety of United States troops as the politicos in Washington, D.C. and The United States court system has attempted to overturn the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy (DADT)””even attaching an amendment to repeal DADT to crucial appropriations legislation which would extend money for equipment and support programs to the American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is a political stunt that should not be tolerated nor should we tolerate any policy shifts that have the potential to inflict harm or damage the overall morale of military personnel.
A personal account on the impact of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
A United Families International supporter shares some personal insights on the impact to military families if DADT is repealed:
As I live alone in Germany with my husband in Iraq, halfway through a 12-month deployment, I’m amazed at the cunning and manipulative ways that I see this push for so-called human rights working from even more angles to tear apart families. To the proponents of the homosexual agenda, same-sex marriage is a human right, apparently a more important human right than all the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan’s human right to life.
One of the biggest issues I have found among soldiers has to do with the government dictating their moral beliefs. Especially for officers and higher ranking Non Commissioned Officers (NCOs) who may have moral or religious objections to the homosexual lifestyle, a repeal of DADT would not just mean that homosexuals could serve openly in the military but that these officers and NCOs would have to defend the homosexual soldiers’ lifestyles. With a military that is overwhelming conservative and supportive of traditional values, this has caused the most concern. These families do not want a standard to be set in the military community that teaches their children to accept the homosexual lifestyle as a normal option and a healthy marriage and family. Because the military community can be so insular – they go to Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DODDS) and military hospitals, even the grocery store is run by the military – a policy shift such as the acceptance and condoning of the homosexual lifestyle would then be endorsed not only in the soldiers’ unit but in their families, next door to them, in their schools, in all aspects of their lives.
The Department of Defense has been conducting large scale surveys of both soldiers and spouses of active duty military personnel to gauge their opinions about the issue of repealing DADT but Congress has been ambivalent toward waiting for the response. The surveys were only just collected over a month ago and running the data on a survey of hundreds of thousands takes more than a couple weeks. But clearly, Congress and the White House couldn’t care less about how this would actually impact a military that is already spread thin and worn out from this ten year war. They’ve shown where their priorities lay and it’s with the political melee of the liberal left’s agenda and not with supporting the troops. Soldiers and their families also understand this and any goodwill that the repeal could have among some has been tarnished by the way in which they’ve attempted to go about enforcing it. Attempting to attach the DADT repeal to the funding for our soldiers was the best way to demonstrate how little they value the sacrifices that these soldiers and their families are making every day.
This woman concludes:
“I am continually surprised by how the homosexual agenda’s mantra of equality has left others ‘hung out to dry’ as they place themselves and their wants above other’s feelings and needs.”
Conclusion
UFI recognizes the important work of military families around the world and the sacrifices they are making. All citizens should be troubled when any group’s agenda is allowed to overshadow the security and the needs of soldiers and their families.
In a world where common sense is backed up with a growing body of scientific research all disproving the claims of the homosexual agenda, it seems the focused approach of same-sex advocates is to personally attack and harass everyone who doesn’t agree with them. It’s a world where the values of parenting, marriage between a man and a woman, and the freedoms of religion, speech, and so many other freedoms can only be countered by being called hate speech. With the growing ferocity of their claims and attacks, UFI and the promoters and protectors of the family must not shirk away in silence. It is the time for us to be more outspoken. We cannot allow the tactics of the homosexual agenda’s supporters to intimidate us. If we sit silently, their campaign will be successful.
UFI stands firmly in support and defense of the family and the traditional values which create stronger and healthier communities, stronger and healthier governments, and a stronger and healthier world. Please join us in our fight for the family. Pledge your support today.