If you saw President Obama’s State of the Union address last week then you are fully aware of his position on the current Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

The 17 year old policy which was established by President Clinton, is the current topic of debate among government officials.  President Obama has vowed to repeal this policy and his current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen  agrees with him.

In a statement made to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Adm. Mullen says “It is the right thing to do… 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. For me, personally, it comes down to integrity — theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.” 

My opinion on any civil rights violation is plain and simple, I believe it is wrong. Gays nor any other minority group, should have to lie or misrepresent who they are in order to serve in the military. We expect these individuals to go out on the front lines and defend their country yet their country will only accept them if they stay quiet about who they truly are. What message does this send to the rest world? We preach freedom, democracy, and equal rights but we don’t seem to practice what we preach. It’s no wonder there’s so much hate and animosity towards us from the Muslim and Eastern countries.

There should be no reason this country is allowing such a policy. The mere fact that there is so much debate over what I feel should be a no brain decision is absurd. This policy needs to be repealed. I thought the days of bigotry and civil rights violations were long gone. What happend to “all men are created equal”?

Those that agree with the policy need to educate me as to why it is necessary because I just don’t get it.  As an educated woman I can not comprehend nor accept how any civil rights violation is acceptable. 

If we continue to conform to this policy we are opening up the flood gates for violations of other civil liberties. No one should be allowed to tell us who we should be or that who we are is wrong. This is a country where it was once acceptable to own human beings, to segregrate people because of the color of their skin, and that made abortion illegal & a crime. These were all laws established by individuals who abhorred anyone that wasn’t like them. It’s all a part of the history of this country and we have come a long way since then. Why are we taking a step back in the wrong direction? 

Some have argued that other soldiers may feel uncomfortable serving with someone that is openly gay. That’s their problem. Why should gay people have to pay for someone else’s discomfort? Give me a break. Are we pre-schoolers that  need to be coddled or are we grown adults that should be able to interact with one another in a cordial and respectable way despite our differences? What do you all think? Do you agree with “Dont Ask, Don’t Tell”?