The controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which prevented gay and lesbian Americans from serving in the military is no more!
It was a long time coming. 17 years ago during the Clinton presidency, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was the best compromise political leaders could reach at the time. Previously, all military service members discovered to be gay or lesbian were immediately and dishonorably discharged. However, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy effectively killed the witch hunt, allowing gays to serve so long as they kept their sexuality private. But on Saturday, Congress finally recognized that preventing gays and lesbians from serving their country was both unfair and discriminatory, and they voted 65-31 to correct history and lift the ban.
“It is time to close this chapter in our history,” President Obama said in a statement hailing the vote’s passage. “It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed.” It was the end of a difficult, yet successful week for the Obama administration. Mr. Obama campaigned on the promise of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and on Saturday he was handed a much needed victory. Earlier in the week, the president also scored a win regarding a compromised tax bill, which prevents millions of Americans from having to pay higher taxes as of January 1st.
Some Republican leaders, including Sen. John McCain of Arizona, were angry and disappointed at the lifting of the gay military ban. Sen. McCain raised eyebrows last week when he said he was against lifting the ban because he thought it would cause some gay military personnel to be injured or killed. He also claimed that a majority of the military and it’s leaders did not want the ban lifted because it would be disruptive to the troops. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullin both debunked those claims, saying that plenty of gays and lesbians already serve in the military without problem, that recent studies prove a majority of military personnel are not at all concerned with the sexuality of those serving next to them, and that lifting the ban would provide no disruption whatsoever to America’s military preparedness.
Once President Obama signs the new bill, the Defense Department will spend the next few months training and educating all branches of the armed forces on policies and how to effectively serve with openly gay and lesbian soldiers. At that time, previously discharged gay and lesbian military personnel will be allowed to reinstate, while others will finally be able to serve their country openly.
If an American man or woman voluntarily joins the U.S. military, goes through the necessary training to wear the uniform, and is willing to risk their life for the sake of their country, their sexuality during their own private time should have never been a factor. And now, it never will be again.
I'm thrilled to see DADT coming to an end. But the devil is in the details so I'm gonna refrain from really celebrating until I see the fine print. However, it does appear to be on its last leg and THAT's a mighty good thing! Side note: I really never saw any difference in the UNJUST treatment of gay and lesbian soldiers prior to_and during_the implementing of DADT. Gay soldiers (males and females) were still forced to live in fear of being "outed" and dismissed from duty_regardless of how noble their service and huge their sacrifice_simply because of their sexual orientation. They could fight, bleed, suffer and DIE for this country, prior to_and under DADT_but they could NOT be honest about themselves!?!IMO: DADT was a sham of a military policy presented AS IF it was a "compromise" when in actuality it was always just more of the same…smh.