Survey on gays draws flak
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WASHINGTON -- A Defense Department survey sent this week to 400,000 service members asks such provocative questions as whether they have shared shower facilities with a gay person, or if they would be comfortable using a base commissary if their neighbors were gay.
The survey -- part of what the military says is its effort to prepare for the possible integration of gays and lesbians into the armed forces -- provoked immediate criticism from some human rights groups, which called it biased and apt to fan fears of gays in the military.
The unauthorized public disclosure of the $4.5 million survey and the fierce reaction to it also prompted the Pentagon to worry that the fallout could skew the results of the poll. Defense officials said the survey was critical to help prepare the armed forces for the likely end of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which prohibits gays from serving openly in the military. The policy is on the verge of being revoked by Congress and the White House.
The Defense Department began conducting the confidential survey this week. But the polling ran into trouble almost from the start, when news organizations obtained copies and highlighted parts that asked service members if they had ever shared a tent with gay colleagues, or how they would react if required to do so.
The Pentagon had tried to keep the survey questions a secret, saying public disclosure could influence the outcome of the polling, scheduled to continue until Aug. 15.
On Friday, press secretary Geoff Morrell said the Pentagon was "discouraged" that the survey had been leaked, and charged that "inflammatory" news coverage could discourage troops from participating or affect their answers. "We need this survey, and we need people to participate in this survey to get a sense of the attitudes of the force," he said.
First Published July 10, 2010 12:00 am
