Should homosexual's be permitted to serve in the armed forces?

My belief to this question is a 100% yes! I have a hard time understanding why gays would not be aloud to make this decision for themselves. What harm does it do to any one else? They are willing to stand up and fight for their county, that should have people showing great respect towards them, as they do for all the other straight people involved in armed forces. I believe this is just banned due to the ignorant and closed minded people of our society these days. You don't see them banning people of a different race, backgrounds, gender, or those whose speak different languages, so what makes this any different. In the extreme cases of this situation for the homosexuals who really want to be in the military to pretend they are something they aren't, by following the "don't ask don't tell" meathod

Resources:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/jan-june00/gays_military_1-6.html

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