The average age (as of '09) of the VFW is 55-60, for the American Legion it's 70. I'd be interested in finding out if that is dues paying members or just members on the rolls because the numbers just don't seem right. Funny how the commanders were the last word on this subject a couple years ago but now not so much.
The nation's two most prominent veterans groups have come out in opposition to President Obama's plan to end the military's long-standing ban on open homosexuals in the ranks.
The opposition from the American Legion, the largest American veterans group, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, comes as the White House has begun a push in Congress to repeal the law this year.
Pro-gay groups received a significant boost Tuesday when the U.S.'s highest-ranking military officials, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs chairman, told the Senate Armed Services Committee they support ending the gay ban, known as "don't ask, don't tell."
Stiff opposition is expected, and spokesmen for the VFW and the Legion told The Washington Times on Wednesday their groups do not want to see military readiness disrupted while the armed forces are fighting two wars. The two groups have more than 4 million members combined.
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