VetVoice, describes itself as an "online home of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans" where veterans can sound off on issues like, "war news, war politics, deployments, optempo, veterans' issues, troops' families' issues, and more."
The organization has commissioned a poll of recent military veterans on the possible repeal of the Military's policy on gays serving openly in the armed services.
And so another right's talking point falls. The poll's conclusion? 77% say:
"It ain't no big thing."
VetVoice's write up the poll can be found here.More after the fold.
The results differ dramatically from previously the widely citedMilitary Times poll.
This is not surprising. As was widely pointed out, the Military Times "poll" is better described as a reader survey of Military Times subscribers that self-selected to participate.
VetVoice describes this as
This is rather groundbreaking as, to my knowledge, it is the first scientific poll to be conducted purely among military members.
They note they used Democratic and Republican pollsters and included only Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans.
The Results:
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans believe being gay or lesbian has no bearing on a service member's ability to perform their duties.
60% agree with that statement
42% strongly agree (included in 60% agreement)
29% disagree.
Strong majorities across the branch forces agreed, and across age groups. As is typical of LGBT polling, the younger the respondent, the less likely they were to voice opposition. Two-thirds of those veterans under age 35 agree (66%) with that statement, including almost half (47%) who strongly agree. Support, however, for LGBT servicemembers was still strong among older vets.
An overwhelming majority of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans say it is personally acceptable to them if gay and lesbian people were allowed to serve openly in the military.
73% say it is acceptable
25% would find it unacceptable
Under 35, 77% find it acceptable.
Interesting breakdown here among force branches:
81% Air Force
78% of those in the Navy
67% of those in the Army
68% of those in the Marines
The notion that today's military members are uncomfortable around gay and lesbian people is unfounded; the data prove it is untrue. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans say they are personally comfortable in the presence of gays and lesbians.
73% are personally comfortable
37% who are very comfortable (including in 73%)
23% uncomfortable
7% very uncomfortable
John McCain may be armed with his list of dead and World War I veterans, but this is a survey of people currently serving. And, unlike the Military Times survey, it is scientific poll of randomly selected Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. You can find the link to the survey form here.
Methods: Lake Research Partners and American Viewpoint designed and administered this survey, which was conducted by phone using professional interviewers. The survey reached a total of 510 veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq) and/or Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan). The survey was conducted February 8-23, 2010. Telephone numbers for the sample were generated randomly from a military sample and a radius sample drawn from military bases in the United States. The margin of error for the total sample is +/- 4.4 percentage points.
Stand with our troops
And stand with Democratic leadership
Sen. Mark Udall, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Patrick Murphy, Rep. Barney Frank all say, "DADT repeal must be included in the next military spending budget." Tell Carl Levin to put it in. List of Armed Services Committee members is here.
DEMOCRATS:
Carl Levin, Michigan, Chairman
Robert Byrd,West Virginia
Joseph Lieberman,Connecticut
Jack Reed, Rhode Island
Daniel Akaka, Hawaii
Bill Nelson, Florida
Ben Nelson, Nebraska
Evan Bayh, Indiana
Jim Webb, Virginia
Claire McCaskill, Missouri
Mark Udall,Colorado
Kay Hagan, North Carolina
Mark Begich, Alaska
Roland Burris, Illinois
GOP
John McCain, Arizona, Ranking Member
James Inhofe, Oklahoma
Jeff Sessions, Alabama
Saxby Chambliss, Georgia
Lindsey Graham, South Carolina
John Thune,South Dakota
Roger Wicker, Mississippi
George LeMieux, Florida
Richard Burr, North Carolina
David Vitter,Louisiana
Susan Collins, Maine