The ball's rolling against DADT

Many people were angered by President Obama's recent lack of action against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". If you're like me, you've probably been following the DADT dialogue and the struggle of Lt. Dan Choi. Lt. Choi was discharged from the Army after he announced that he was gay. Since then, he has been challenging DADT.

Frankly, it makes me incredibly frustrated that someone who is talented (Lt. Choi speaks Arabic) and has the desire to serve her/his country in the armed forces, should be denied the opportunity because of her/his sexuality. If our country is trying to have a military comprised of dedicated and skilled people, if that truly is the goal, why refuse people because of sexuality?

I think it reinforces the same ridiculous stereotypes that it relies on. I am pretty sure a gay man is just as capable of doing his duty as a straight man. We don't assume that a straight man in the Army is going to fail in his duty because of his sexuality. It just seems really illogical and unfair to me, and to Senator Gillibrand, which is fortunate since she has a bigger direct influence on policy than I do at the moment....

Because of her work on this issue, the Senate Armed Services Committee is going to have hearings on DADT this coming fall. This will be the first time DADT has been evaluated since it's creation in the Clinton administration. Hopefully, the result will be a change in policy that will allow people to be open about their sexuality without fear of reprisal.

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