Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Gone?

Will the Don’t ask don’t tell policy be repealed in the near future?  It’s possible, considering that both President Obama and Robert Gates, the Secretary of Defense, support the measure.  Robert Gates has appointed a “high level working group” to figure out exactly how to repeal the policy.  Why the Pentagon would need to figure out how to repeal the measure is beyond me though, is it really that hard to repeal such an old-fashioned policy?  I’m not in the military, but to me it doesn’t seem like repealing the policy would cause that much distress, gays can openly work in almost every other job.  While it’s clear that the repeal is supported by many high level persons associated with the military such as the President, the Defense Secretary, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, it is unclear how the average soldier will react to the repeal, but Adm. Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs remains optimistic, saying he hopes that military personnel will “accommodate” the change.  The repeal however, is not without it’s opponents.  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, a member of the Armed Services Committee has said that he is “disappointed” with the decision to repeal the policy.  He has said that the policy is “imperfect, but effective”, effective at what exactly?  Keeping members of the military in the closet?  People often talk about how we should honor the troops, but what about the gay and lesbian members of the military?  While straight members of the military can be completely open about their orientation, gay and lesbian members of the military can’t say a word.  The repeal is a step in the right direction, and I hope more things like this will come later.

Prinz