Poll: Americans
embarrassed by military's gay ban

Barring out gay men and lesbians from serving in the armed forces makes more people embarrassed by the military than proud of it, according to a new University of California poll. According to the poll, 24.2% of respondents said that the policy makes them embarrassed by the military, while 17.5% said that the policy makes them proud. Fifty-six percent said the policy has no impact on their feelings about the military.

Conservatives were heavily overrepresented in the pool of respondents because the sample was designed to match the characteristics of a cohort of new military recruits. Among respondents to the survey, 53.1% were Republicans, 29.8% were independent/other, and 17% were Democrats; 81.6% were male, and 18.4% were female; and all were between the ages of 18 and 24. These characteristics closely match the profile of a cohort of new military recruits.

The survey was designed by the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military, a research institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to test how the gay ban is perceived among individuals whom the military seeks to recruit. "The fact that even conservatives are embarrassed by the gay ban suggests that the policy is harmful to the military's reputation," said Aaron Belkin, director of the group.

During the past two years, at least six national polls administered by five different polling organizations have asked members of the public whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military. All polls found that between 58% and 79% of the public believe that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly. For example, Fox News found in August 2003 that 64% of the public, including 55% of Republicans, believe that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly.