If you are a gay and lesbian soldier serving the United States military, lay down your guns and come home. Pack up your duffle bags, tell your commanders that you are gay or lesbian and hop on a plane and return to your families. We’ll welcome you with open arms and thank you for your service.
With the recent setback to the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the policy prohibiting gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, it seems that Republicans—and a handful of Democrats—are more concerned about perceptions during mid-term elections than doing what’s right. The frustration is palpable.
A week before the Senate failed to beat back a filibuster of the Defense Department’s annual authorization bill, which included compromise language spelling out steps for ending “don’t ask” already approved by the House, LGBT advocacy groups were hopeful. They were wrong. Only 56 votes—four shy of the required 60—were cast to end the Republican block.
I have the utmost respect for our men and women in the armed services. Without them we wouldn’t have the freedoms we enjoy every day and the safety in which we conduct our daily lives. But imagine that each morning you kissed your partner goodbye, only to arrive at work and be required to deny that you’re in a relationship.
Could you be invested in your job? Could you work effectively? Could you enjoy your co-workers? I know I couldn’t, but that’s exactly what lesbian and gay military personnel have been asked to do for nearly two decades. And we can’t just blame one party.
It was President Bill Clinton—a Democrat— who signed “don’t ask, don’t tell” into law in 1993. Whatever his motivation, it has caused too many soldiers’ careers to end for no reason other than the responsible conduct of their private lives. The most recent estimate is that 13,000-plus personnel have been dismissed from the military—simply because they are gay or lesbian.
Two Democrats—Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas—voted with 40 GOP senators (Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski did not vote) to support the filibuster. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, also cast a “no” vote. Reid said it was a procedural tactic that allows him to ask for reconsideration at a later date, but it still hurts the gay personnel serving our military now.
It’s unfair and there’s a point where soldiers should stand up and declare, “Enough.”
Fortunately, public opinion and courts around the country are slowly eroding the discriminatory policy. U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton just ruled that former Air Force Reserve Maj. Margaret Witt, a military nurse, should be “reinstated at the earliest possible moment.” Maj. Witt was forced out of the military four years ago, when her superiors learned that she was living with another woman.
The Witt ruling came just weeks after a federal judge in California declared “don’t ask” unconstitutional. Judge Virginia Phillips rejected the argument that having gay men and lesbians serving in the military undermines morale.
I personally know several gay men who serve in the military in some capacity. I also know that, for them, leaving would be career and spiritual suicide. In an economic environment where jobs are scarce, military service is employment security and in investment in the future.
There are many gay and lesbian soldiers who are rightfully proud of their service. Imagine if they could step forward and claim their relationships, and if their straight counterparts supported them. Change would happen immediately. With the current gridlock in our government, maybe that’s the only way to make the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” a reality.
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