Republican Chris Gibson says he wants to wait for a Defense Department report before announcing how he would vote on the controversial “don’t ask-don’t tell” policy, which bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the US military.<\/p>\n
His opponent, Democratic incumbent Scott Murphy, says he wants to repeal the ban, describing it as discriminatory and comparing it to the racial segregation that was once standard military policy in the US.<\/p>\n
The interesting thing about Gibson’s position is that the former Army colonel, who served as an active duty officer\u00a0until earlier this year, appears to have actually administered the policy first-hand.<\/p>\n
Asked about the issue by Albany Times-Union reporter Jimmy Vielkind during a debate hosted by WMHT, Gibson said this:<\/p>\n
“Well, the first thing is, I’ve had very little personal experiences with [dont ask-don’t tell] over 24 years,” he said.\u00a0 “There were only two cases that I had in 24 years.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It’s unclear exactly what actions Gibson took regarding these cases, or what the outcomes were for the soldiers involved.<\/p>\n
It’s also unclear whether they occurred while Gibson was in command of the 2nd Brigade combat team of the 82nd Airborne Division, where he led more than 3,000 soldiers.<\/p>\n
Asked by NCPR for clarification, the Gibson campaign declined to offer any further details.<\/p>\n
Here’s the message sent to me by campaign spokesman Daniel Odescalchi:<\/p>\n
“[Chris Gibson] has been a soldier his entire professional life and understands the complexity of this issue far more than those who have not served to the extent he has.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
During the debate, Vielkind asked Gibson to clarify whether he feels that the policy is discriminatory.\u00a0 The candidate answered this way:<\/p>\n
“It’s actually a fundamental tension between two American values, equality — the equality for law abiding citizens to enjoy a complete American life — and privacy.\u00a0 Those that volunteer to have their privacy respected in close quarters, including in situations overseas when they’re in combat.\u00a0 And how those two fundamental values are reconciled I think is going to have everything to do with readiness.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Murphy and Gibson agree that this issue should be settled by Congress, not by the courts.<\/p>\n
If he wins on Tuesday, it appears that Gibson will be one of very few representatives from either party to have actually administered don’t-ask-don’t tell as a military officer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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