By Richard Kavesh
Congressman John Boehner (R – Ohio) has starred in the Congressional version of “Dr. No” for the past year in his role as the House Republican leader. However, I was amazed to pick up Monday’s New York Times and to find out that I actually agree with Boehner about President Obama’s goal of eliminating America’s notorious “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which bans openly gay members in the military.
Here is what Mr Boehner said: “In the middle of two wars and in the middle of this giant security threat, why would we want to get into this debate?”
Mr. Boehner is right! There should be no debate at all about allowing openly gay Americans to serve in our armed forces, and President Obama was right when he called our present policy “just wrong.” All supporters of “equal protection of the laws” know that it is downright un-American for the government to discriminate against soldiers just because they happen to be openly gay.
The nation’s top uniformed officer agrees it’s time to end Don’t Ask Don’t Tell — now. “It is my personal and professional belief that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would be the right thing to do,” Admiral Mike Mullen told a Senate panel on Monday. “No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.” Mullen is the highest ranking military officer to endorse repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
As Shakespeare said about Brutus, Mr. Boehner “is an honorable man.” As such, I know that he and his Republican colleagues will do the patriotic thing and support the Obama Administration’s abolition of the “don’t ask, don’t tell policy” – without debate or further delay.
Source: Wall Street Journal, 2/3/2010
See Also: NYT 2/3/2010
Richard Kavesh is mayor of Nyack, NY.
Admiral Mullen’s agreement that DODT must go obviously comes from years of watching silently as careers and lives were ruined by this policy.
Mullen also remembers, as do I, the days before DODT. When I was in ROTC basic camp at Fort Knox, I watched as a fellow cadet was brutality beaten by members of his squad for just having some effeminate traits. Gay people, and those suspect of being gay, were commonly target for beatings and harassment by their fellow servicemen, designed to persuade them to resign from the military or turn themselves in for court-martial.
While DODT put a stop to the witch hunts and the brutality, it also forced those in the military to lie about who they were in order to serve their country. It still allowed those in command to make excuses in order to to rid their units of those they suspected that they were gay or lesbian.
It is government sponsored discrimination, which is morally wrong.
Great post Richard. I absolutely agree!