Rep. Gohmert: DADT Repeal Would Require Troops To Be "Overt About Their Sexuality"

On the House floor earlier today, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) railed against the White House-backed effort to repeal the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.  In an impassioned speech, Gohmert cited his experience as a JAG officer to argue that he can "understand this issue" better than his colleagues.  But moments later, he totally misrepresented what repealing the ban on gays and lesbian service members would entail, proving that he doesn't actually understand it at all:

GOHMERT: And think about the policy.  Look, I have represented people in the army that have practiced homosexuality, and heterosexuality, and sexual assault victims.  I understand this issue perhaps more than many of those on the floor here.  And I'm telling you the military is not a social experiment.  We are sending them out there with a mission to protect this country.  And if someone has to be overt about their sexuality, whether it's in a bunker where they're confined under fire, then it's a problem.  And that's what repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" does.  It says I have to be overt -- I don't care -- I want this to be a social experiment.  Our men and the women in the military deserve better.  Let's here from them at the end of the year with a complete study, and then the leaders keep their word when we send out military out to die for this country.  We owe them better than this. 

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Gohmert is a fanatical opponent of gay rights, so his passion for state-sponsored discrimination isn't surprising.  That said, he is also wrong on the facts. 

For starters, the proposal making its way through Congress would delay implementation until after the Pentagon weighs in later this year.  So rather than precluding the military's review, it actually depends on it to lift the ban.  Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have endorsed this approach.  Presumably, they "understand" the policy at least as well as Gohmert does. 

Additionally, the idea that repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell would require anyone to be "overt about their sexuality" is ridiculous.  It simply would allow patriotic Americans to serve their country without having to hide who they are.  Indeed, under the current law, many soldiers who never shared details of their personal lives have been discharged after they were outed.

Gohmert, though, appears to be afraid of the stereotype that gays and lesbians will automatically flaunt their sexuality if given the chance -- even when they're "in a bunker" and "under fire."