Gay military should stay in the closet? New votes on DADT change nothing yet
”The legislation involved is a deferred repeal. In other words, it would repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ but only after — I repeat, after! — the ongoing Department of Defense high-level review is completed. And only after the President, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and I can all certify that we are ready to make the change without hurting unit cohesion, military readiness, military effectiveness and recruiting and retention…. While this process plays out over time, nothing will change in our current policies and practices. Current law, policies and regulations remain in place, and we are obligated to abide by them as before.”
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in a public video responding to developments in Congress that are moving toward the repeal of the ”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that excludes openly gay servicemembers from serving in the Armed Forces. A review is due, as Rachel Maddow states, on December 1. There is much debate over what these political developments mean, and what effect they will have. But most who want to allow gay men and lesbians to serve this country honorably do agree that this is a step in the right direction. (via MSNBC)
What do these changes mean?
- “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is still the law
- Gay and lesbian service who attempt to serve openly and honestly are still subject to discharge; being out to anyone at anytime presents a risk to further military service.
- Gay and lesbian service members can still be “outed” by third parties
- Based on SLDN’s preliminary analysis, service members remain vulnerable to being “outed” by third-parties.
Portion of a press release from SLDN that warns current American lesbian and gay soldiers that they remain at risk of discharge under the ”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. (SLDN)
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