The "don't ask, don't tell" policy signed into law by President Clinton bans openly gay people from serving in the military. Court challenges, a move in Congress, and four straight months of the military falling short on its recruitment goals threaten to abolish the ban.
The telling sign that homosexuals serving in our military poses no harm to our national security is the 47% decline in discharges granted under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy since the start of the War on Terrorism.
On the one hand, we have the official stance from the military saying that the decline cannot be attributed to the decision by frontline commanders to retain openly gay soldiers. The decline may be that fewer homosexuals are opening up and being "discovered".
On the other hand, we can look at the historical trend in discharges for homosexuality. They peak during peacetime and fall dramatically during wartime. Even Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) acknowledges that he personally knew gay soldiers who served in Vietnam.
The message the military is sending and our government is quietly endorsing: gays have no rights, but if we need their bodies, we'll let them fight and die for our country.
Now is a good time for the military - and Congress - to step up to the plate and eliminate the ban on gays in the military. They're proudly serving our country. They're proudly dying for our country. The least we could do is show them the respect and dignity afforded everyone else and allow them to serve whether others know they're gay or not.
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