The Obama administration has made many promises, one of which is to repeal the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy.
Passed by the Clinton administration, the policy prohibits openly gay men and women from joining the military, or from ‘coming out’ once they have joined.
This is an unacceptable prejudice against our gay friends and loved ones.
Although the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ issue comes at an inopportune time for Obama, he has no choice but to address it. Our country is faced with many military conflicts, and our armed forces are in dire need of overall improvement in all areas. ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ has become a hot topic recently, especially due to one case in which a current lieutenant is in danger of losing his job.
Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, a member of the Air Force for more than 18 years, was recently outed by a civilian.
The fires were also fanned by the case of James Pietrangelo II, an Army veteran and lawyer who was discharged for homosexuality before his third tour. A high court declined to hear his case.
These two cases display an urgent need for the president to address this issue. The war in Afghanistan will not be over anytime soon, and America needs every lieutenant it has.
This is an issue that will not change overnight, however convincing the statistics may be. Recently, Gallup polls have shown that the national opinion in favor of rights for gays and bisexuals has changed.
According to a June article from Time.com, a Gallup poll found that 58 percent of conservatives support openly gay people serving in the military. An even larger 69 percent of all Americans support the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’
These are stark statistics ‘- almost a complete reversal from when Clinton tried to kill ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ ‘- but to lift the ban, Obama would still need the support of Congress, which has not been a swift channel of success for Obama so far, despite the Democrat majority.
Any action taken will not be an easy one, but like all the issues he has faced, Obama has no choice. This issue is so fundamental to human rights that Obama should challenge Congress and fight to keep his promise.’
So far, Obama has not made much progress for equal human rights. Many gay and lesbian political figures give him a failing grade. Failing to follow through on his promise to repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ would only lower his grade further.
