It's been a long time coming but the military's misguided and discriminatory policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has finally come to an end. At the stroke of midnight Tuesday, the U.S. Army released a statement that gays can serve openly in the armed forces. Other service branches are complying with this as well and it truly marks a turning point for the gay rights movement.
One of the more interesting stories about this
development was in the TIMES yesterday. It was about a military recruiter who set up a table at a gay center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Apparently, the Marines are taking the end of discrimination as an opportunity to actively recruit gays and lesbians. Giving the fact that there are two wars on, recruiters have their work cut out for them. And I secretly suspect that some of the impetus behind this policies' ultimate implementation was the basic math of the situation; the US simply could not afford to discharge anyone in a time when the forces are stretched tight in the war on terrorism.
Regardless, it's great news that we are now moving past this senseless debate on "gays in the military" (hello--they've always been there) and moving forward to fight the real battles that count.
