> * The only possible argument against it I can think of that's the least bit logical relies on facts I have never heard confirmed, denied, or even mentioned, namely, the same argument against women in the military. In combat situations, mixed troops of men and women soldiers tend not to perform as well, because what often happens is the men's protective instincts kick in, and they start taking unwise risks to keep the women safe. Consequently, for purely practical purposes, I am against mixing genders in individual troops. Separate divisions, however, I'm ok with, so I'm not utterly against women in the military. At any rate, I have no clue if gays in the military would trigger this same sort of phenomenon or not (and if it I did, I can't imagine it being as severe anyway).

I have been thinking about this part of your post here for the last 48 hours trying to decide why this didn't quite set right. Do gay men feel protective of other gay men? Maybe. Is this the reason "gays in the military" is such an issue? Hmmm, no. Read Unipeg's post on "silly boys" where she talks about the continuous sexual canvasing by young men. Not to point out the obvious, but men--straight or gay-- are in general more agressive that way than women. I'm not implying that all gay men in the military would or do continually proposition/check out/harrass/whatever you-want-to-call-it *but* I think that straight men are now *concious* of that *possibility* occuring. When even "covert" or "perceived" interest from a gay elicits extreme hostility from some straight men, I can see why command does not want to have to deal with it. The overlay/tension of the sexual marketplace being added to combat situations--where you may be working in close quarters with little privacy many hours of the day--isn't going to focus the troops into that unified and cohesive group that fares best under fire. (And for this same reason, why I agree with you that women should not be in combat).

koala"also spent the last 48 hours imagining the conversation in Kaz!'s household if Leen should send him her video: 'Those computer people want to send you a video now? First that girl in the park, now this? You don't know what could be on that video! There could be anything on there. Like subversive illegal stuff. It could be mind-bending cult material'(makes slicing motion and sound of mind being bended) "mom