Doug Pike on DADT

Douglas Pike, the only declared Democratic candidate for the 6th congressional district has announced his opposition to the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. An email sent to supporters read, in part,:

Right now, in compliance with the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law (DADT), the United States military is firing good soldiers - simply for being gay, lesbian or bisexual. This policy is wrong, and it makes our nation less safe.

I reject the argument that the U.S. military can't function effectively with gay men and women serving openly. Many of our allies allow gay men and women to serve openly in their militaries, and no one would ever accuse these militaries - the Israel Defense Forces or the British Army - of lacking toughness or suffering from morale
problems.

I also don’t accept the argument that the men and women in the U.S. armed forces lack the professionalism to work alongside servicemembers who are gay. We have the greatest military in the world, and they are ready to do their jobs without this outdated policy causing them to lose capable comrades-in-arms for no good reason. We’re fighting two wars, and we need all hands on deck.

What’s more, over 100 retired generals and admirals agree. They recently signed a letter urging Congress to repeal DADT.

I endorse the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1283), which would replace DADT with a policy of non-discrimination, allowing gay individuals to serve openly in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The Congressional Quarterly's congressional race rankings currently has this district in the "leans Democratic" category. I am told that Pike is one of the only challengers endorsing the repeal, who is currently favored to win.