By DMITRY RASHNITSOV

More than two-thirds of Florida voters favor gay men and lesbian women serving openly in the military according to a new poll released by Hamilton Campaigns and commissioned by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).

Hamilton Campaigns surveyed 700 registered voters in Florida in April and 69 percent said that gays and lesbians should be able to serve in the military. However, only 51 percent of Florida voters opposed the current Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy and that same number, 51 percent, wanted to see the policy repealed.

About 80 percent of voters said that the most convincing argument to repeal DADT is that, “On the battlefield, it does not matter whether a soldier is gay or straight, they just need to get the job done.”

Another 69 percent said that DADT should be repealed because, “our allies with active militaries like Israel and Great Britain have opened up their military to gays and lesbians and fought alongside the U.S. military, with no reports of major problems or issues with the change.”

Hamilton Campaign’s poll concluded that, “Voters support gay men and lesbian women serving in the military and a narrow majority support repeal of the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy currently in place.

The arguments for repeal of a soldier’s orientation not mattering on the battlefield, our allies integrating their militaries successfully, and not wanting to lose otherwise qualified soldiers and be forced to spend millions training new soldiers, are strong arguments for repeal of “Don’t ask, Don’t tell.” Most voters say Florida Senator Bill Nelson’s position on “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” makes no difference to them; however, support for repeal appears to be a stronger motivator with support groups, than a reason to oppose among Republicans.”