Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal: Why We Should Let Gays and Lesbians Join the U.S. Military

In the U.S. Military, the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy" is still intact, even if a repeal seems to be imminent in the future.

Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith was more than glad to point out to the Associated Press that nobody has been discharged due to the DADT policy since at least October 21^st.

Congratulations guys; that is over a month without any gay or lesbian troops getting discharged. You deserve a big pat on the back. Go ahead use both hands, you should feel extra special.

I do appreciate the fact that the military went from discharging an average of over one gay service member a day to zero in the past 40 days. Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a change to the DADT policy that only senior civilian leaders can discharge service members. This change has had a huge effect, but the problem is, this shouldn't even be an issue.

1. It is not illegal to be gay.

We are seriously telling young men and women that they can't serve our country because they choose to have relations with the same sex. I can understand if it isn't your cup of tea. I'm hetrosexual, so it isn't my choice either, but isn't our country about having choices?

2. Since when is it good to promote discrimination?

Discriminating against blacks, hispanics, whites, women or men is for the most part frowned upon in the United States. It most definitely happens, but isn't the goal to be discrination free? Is discriminating against the gay population any different than discriminating against women, african americans, or obese people?

3. The Gay Population

By the U.S. having the DADT policy, all openly gay and lesbian adults between the ages of 18-45 are not eligible to serve in the U.S. Military. I'm sure all supporters of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" theory are very happy with this result. However, one should realize that we are talking about 5-10% of adults in this age range. That is a pretty decent chunk of eligible service members that are just thrown to the waste side.

It doesn't really matter whether one thinks it is moral to be gay. That question would cause an eruption of debate that would spill in a hundred different directions. If a man was to pull you out of a burning building, would you wish he would've just let you burn if you found out he is gay? If a person is willing to risk his or her life for their country, then should we really question if they are worthy to do so because of their sexual orientation?