Don't Ask, Don't Tell?

The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law was put into place to make the simple statement that “if no one inquires about your sexuality, then we don’t want to know”. This enables the gay men and women in our community to serve their country without having to reveal their sexuality and be subject to harassment and being relieved of their duties from the military.

Freedom to choose how to live is the American way and that’s what our soldiers defend. We do not expect people to hide their sexual orientation anywhere else, so why the military? As progressive as we have become as a nation, the gay community is still facing a slow, uphill battle when it comes to obtaining rights to marry and to serve their country.

When women joined the military and lobbied for equal treatment and access to jobs beyond the role of secretary, the government made the adjustments to accommodate the growing participation of women in the military. It does not seem like a stretch to accommodate our gay soldiers by creating the necessary environment that would satisfy them and the government.

Failing provide gay soldiers with these regulations that meet their needs is problematic not only for them but for heterosexual soldiers as well. There are rules put into place that provide men and women with separate living quarters. One of those reasons is to protect the privacy of men and women. When I was in Iraq, all the women were herded into a single un-air conditioned tent where we slept, dressed and stored our gear. I recall an instance where my privacy was violated when I was changing only to find a known lesbian in the unit staring me down as I dressed so I resorted to changing in the shower trailer. She was a good person just as I had many good male soldiers that were friends but I wouldn’t be willing to let them watch me dress either.

Turning a blind eye and refusing to acknowledge gay men and women in the military is denying them their rights to exercise their freedoms as individuals that they risk their lives to defend. Although some of their fellow soldiers are accepting of them, gay soldiers are still persecuted, harassed, and alienated and because the government does not want to acknowledge the existence of gay men and women in the military, they are not protected.

The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law is archaic; it is time to create new laws that protect all Americans that want to serve their country without exclusion.