Holly Ramer writes for the AP (12/8):
Clark, who has said he opposes the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for homosexuals, also said he was unaware of the military's policy against gays until he was confronted with a case as a commander.
"It had just never come up to me," he said. "I'd been in the Army almost 15 years, never seen this, it wasn't an issue as far as I was concerned."
At the time, the military regularly dismissed all homosexuals.
Now, it dismisses soldiers only if they volunteer that they are gay. Clark said the policy isn't working and he would ask military leaders to come up with a replacement.
I commented on the following quote 11/7, 11/12, and 11/13:
Clark: There are those (read: gays) who serve in the armed forces. And they do a very good job. But when they are - when they acknowledge who they are and their sexual preference, they leave. So I've got a very good comfort level with that'.
So let me get clear. Clark's view is that he didn't know there were gays in the military until he was a "commander"? Gays serve now and well, but when they are - when they acknowledge they're gay, they leave? When and under what circumstances? Do gay and lesbian soldiers make this acknowledgment themselves? Or when a fellow soldier outs them to his fellows or even his CO? So gay or lesbian soldiers will confess their sexual orientation after being challenged by a superior to acknowledge or deny it? And they'll do so because they understand that homosexuality (which is not a way of acting but a fact of being) - itself constitutes misbehavior?