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Hartford Courant: Shays Gets Into Homosexuality-in-Military Clash

Rep. Chris Shays, Connecticut's lone Republican member of the congressional delegation, got some press yesterday for leaping into the debate over gay men and women serving in the military. At a hearing of the House armed-services subcommittee on personnel (examining the effectiveness of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy for the first time in years) Shays apparently lit into a woman who argued against allowing openly gay people into the military.

Here's a segment of the story in the Washington Post:

Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) pointed a finger at [lesbian Navy Capt. Joan] Darrah and glared at [Elaine] Donnelly. "Would you please tell me, Miss Donnelly, why I should give one twit about this woman's sexual orientation, when it didn't interfere one bit with her service?"

Donnelly said something about "forced intimacy."

Shays cut her off. "You're saying she has no right to serve her country because she happens to have a different sexual orientation than you."

And later in the story:

Shays, his voice rising with Yankee indignation, continued to lecture Donnelly: "I think the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy is unpatriotic. I think it's counterproductive. In fact, I think it is absolutely cruel."

Donnelly said something about her respect for the service of gay veterans. "How do you respect their service?" Shays demanded. "You want them out."

Also on the Huffington Post, a Web site not known for embracing Republicans, Shays received some positive remarks yesterday for his argument to repeal the military ban on open lesbian, gay and bisexual members.

Click here to read the original article.