Friday, May 8, 2009

Don't ask, Don't Tell

The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy within our military is ridiculously outdated. Gay and lesbian soldiers who wish to be open with their sexuality should be able to do so without repercussions of any kind, just as soldiers who are openly "straight" aren't.

As it stands today, the United States is one of two NATO member countries who disallow open homosexuals from serving their country militarily; the other member country is Turkey.

The main fear, I suppose, is that straight soldiers will feel uncomfortable being gawked at by gay soldiers in the showers or barracks. But that's an irrational fear; if it were rational, wouldn't female soldiers have the same fear of straight men in the field?

Gay soldiers in our military aren't likely to cause much trouble; under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" there hasn't been much of a problem, and the only difference between keeping the policy and getting rid of it would mean being able to be honest with your fellow soldiers about who you were. It's time we got rid of this policy and allowed anyone who was fit to serve to do so, regardless of their sexuality.

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