Paul Ryan: Re-banning gay troops would be ‘a step in the wrong direction’
Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Paul Ryan, has said that he thinks reinstating the ban on LGBT troops would be wrong, that the issue is “done” and that the US should “move on”.
Almost exactly a year since ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ was repealed, Paul Ryan has said that he thinks the controversial policy, which banned openly gay troops from serving, should not be reinstated.
“Now that it’s done, we should not reverse it,” Ryan told WPTV, “I think that would be a step in the wrong direction because people have already disclosed themselves.”
Mr Ryan, who originally voted against the repeal of DADT, said that he thought the timing was wrong, but that it still should not be brought back into effect:
“I talked to a lot of good friends of mine who are combat leaders and they just didn’t think the timing of this was right to do this when our troops were in the middle of harm’s way in combat,” Ryan said.”I think this issue is past us. It’s done. And, I think we need to move on.”
According to the findings, cohesion, recruitment, retention, violence and harassment, or morale were all unaffected by the repeal.
He said: “Before the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” you faithfully served your country with professionalism and courage. And just like your fellow service members, you put your country before yourself.
“And now — after repeal, you can be proud of serving your country, and be proud of who you are when in uniform.
