With all the progress this country has made in recent years toward equality, America’s gay and lesbian population still faces significant hurdles in their fight for equal rights.
So it was refreshing to learn last week that Congress is taking steps to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the military policy that keeps gays from openly serving in the armed forces.
Since 1993, more than 13,000 service members have been discharged under the policy. That’s 13,000 soldiers — people who answered their country’s call to service, yet were dismissed not because of what they did, but because of who they are.
An estimated 800 of those discharged were “mission critical” specialists — pilots, intelligence analysts, medics and linguists. When we’re fighting two wars, doesn’t it make more sense to keep these specialists rather than let them go because of their sexual orientation?
Supporters of the policy say allowing gays to serve would destroy troop morale and cohesion; a similar argument was made by the Pentagon in the 1940s when desegregation was debated. But the military still continued to function after President Harry Truman ordered integration; it will still function when “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is repealed.
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