New Poll Finds Most Oppose DADT Repeal

Groups dedicated to keeping in place the ban on gays serving openly have released the results of a survey they say indicates the majority of Americans oppose lifting the so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" prohibition.

The poll, sponsored by the Center for Military Readiness and the Military Culture Coalition, found the largest group of respondents – 48 percent – opposes repealing the 1993 law. Forty-five percent favored repealing Don't Ask.

Center for Military Readiness President Elaine Donnelly predicted that the opinions of likely voters reflected in the new survey would give lawmakers yet another reason to support the current law. 

"Americans understand that the current push for sexual minorities in the military is motivated by politics, not principle," she said in a statement. "Instead of seeking favor with a minority of [homosexual] activists, lawmakers should heed the advice of military leaders who support the current law."

Additionally the poll found that lawmakers who vote to lift the current prohibition on abortions at military medical facilities do so "at their own political peril."

The CMR/Coalition poll found 49 percent opposed to using military facilities for abortions.

When asked if they would be less likely or more likely to vote for a lawmaker who voted to permit abortions in military facilities, 43 percent of those polled said they would be less likely to support that candidate and 22 percent said more likely.

The advocacy groups announced the poll results today during a telephone press conference that also included representatives from a half-dozen other organizations opposed to abortion or gays in the military. The Center for Military Readiness organized the Military Culture Coalition, which is made up of dozens of other organizations.

The poll of 1,000 respondents was conducted in mid-July by the polling company/WomanTrend of Washington, D.C., said Kellyanne Conway, founder and chief executive officer of the company. She said during the press conference today that the respondents defined themselves as likely voters in the upcoming November elections.

Among other key findings, according to Conway:

* 1 percent of respondents said the issue of gays in the military should be the top priority for Congress and the president through the end of 2010.

* 30 percent would be less likely to vote for their congressional candidate knowing that he or she voted to "disrupt the status quo" on gays in the military, while 21 percent of respondents said they would be morel likely to vote for their candidate for the same reason.

* 52 percent opposed imposing career penalties on military personnel and chaplains who do not support homosexuals in the armed forces; 37 percent favored imposing penalties.

The questions and results presented online via the Military Culture Coalition's website represent only a sampling of the poll, Conway told Military.com in an interview after the press conference.

"The client (CMR and the MCC) is withholding some of the questions for strategic interests," she said. Conway said this is not unusual in any poll but that none of the questions or results held back alter the findings of the overall poll.

The MCC site detailing the poll said the margin of error for the interviews said the data obtained would not be off by more than 3.1 percentage points, up or down. The 1,000 respondents were drawn from both listed and unlisted household samples across the country and included households that rely only on cell phones as well as those with standard telephone service.

Former Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Carl Mundy, representing the Flag and General Officers of the Military, which has opposed repeal of Don't Ask, said he took heart from a poll finding that showed most voters view the military as a specialized segment of society.

Repealing Don't Ask would have an adverse impact on military discipline, unit cohesion and military recruiting and retention, Mundy added.