73% of U.S. Troops Accepting of Gay Soldiers

A recent poll from Zogby International and the Michael D Palm Center shows that US military personnel are increasingly at ease serving with openly gay colleagues.

The poll reveals that 73 percent of military members aren't bothered by lesbians and gays. Nearly one in four (23 percent) service members report knowing for sure that someone in their unit is lesbian or gay, including 21 percent of those in combat units.

"Today's poll is one more nail in the coffin of 'don't ask, don't tell,'" said C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

The survey of 545 troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan also discovered that, even among those who did not know for certain if a gay colleague was in their unit, nearly half (45 percent) suspected as much.

Among those who did know a gay colleague, few said their presence undermined morale. In 1993, only 13 percent of enlisted personnel supported open service. (Keep Reading)