For members of the military who have, in essence, remained in the closet for the last decade plus, today is a new day. President Barack Obama signed the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” repeal. No longer will openly gay men and lesbians be barred from serving in the U.S. military.
There will no separate showers or other facilities. As we listened to the news this morning, the notion of separate showers called up one image in particular, that of desegregation of the U.S. military in 1948. There will be no benefits for partners of gays and lesbians–and gay marriages will not be acknowledged under this repeal. Still, it’s a start.
Kudos to the U.S. Congress and President Obama for moving the military forward into the 21st century.
Bye-Bye Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011It’s official. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the Clinton-era compromise on gays in the military, is done, gone, repealed as of midnight last night.
A piece on NPR, “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is Done; Now What?,” about the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal, has some good quotes. One of our faves, from Stacy Vasquez: “I like to say I’m a government-certified homosexual.”
We thank Grethe Cammermeyer for drawing our attention to this issue many years ago. We hope she, like so many of her compatriots, is celebrating a long-awaited victory today.
Tags:Don't Ask Don't Tell
Posted in Lesbian Life, Life Commentary | No Comments »