National Annaberg Election Survey 2004 -
US Military
Attitudes to Gays in the Military
This abstract is from the National
Annaberg Election Survey dated 16 Oct 04 in which US service personnel
where questioned on a range of topics including their attitude towards
gays in the military. An interesting comparison can be drawn with the
acceptance of female service personnel, for many years resisted as
fiercely as the current debate about gays and "don't ask don't tell".
The findings on gays in the military showed a striking
difference by rank:
Commissioned officers and their families opposed
their inclusion by 53% to 39%.
NCOs and
their families were also clearly opposed, by a 57% to 35% margin.
50% of junior enlisted personnel junior said
gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly, while 43% said
they should not.
Respondents were asked their reason for support or opposition.
Among those who opposed inclusion of gays and lesbians,
20% said inclusion
would be a
distraction and cause problems,
13% said it would be bad
for morale,
12% said it would disrupt teamwork
15% percent said that homosexuality
was wrong,
8% said they felt uncomfortable with homosexuals.
6% said homosexuality was incompatible with
military service
5% percent cited close quarters as the reason for opposition.
Among supporters,
41% said homosexuals should
have equal rights,
27% said sexual orientation had nothing to
do with job performance,
10% percent said it did not bother them,
6% said it was a free country.
On another issue that had once divided the
armed forces, the military sample resoundingly
approved the work of women in the service.
Seventy-four percent said they performed
as well as
the men they served with, 10 percent
said they did worse than men, and 7 percent
said they
did
better than men.
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