by Jennifer Wagner

Created on: January 17, 2009

Does it really matter if someone is gay? It's difficult to understand how, in the year 2009, there is anyone that remains ignorant enough to discriminate against someone that practices homosexuality. With all the information that is made available to society, and with the number of high profile people that have come out of the closet, homosexuality should no longer even be an issue.

I want to make it clear that I am not a homosexual. I am not making this statement because I want to live my life as a homosexal. However, I feel that everyone is entitled to live their lives in a way that makes them happy, and be allowed to enjoy the same amount of freedom as others. As a society, we have abolished racism and sexism, but by keeping the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, we are leaving the door open for discrimination against homosexuality.

Straight men and women in the military speak openly about their relationships, and even intmate encounters. Sometimes they even talk about it at work. In fact, it seems to be a right of passage for straight men; a way to bond with others. However, a gay person isn't given that same opportunity. It's a taboo subject for them. One that they are made to feel ashamed of, and that is the WRONG message to be sending out. Homosexuality is nothing to be ashamed of. It doesn't make a person less qualified to do their job, and it doesn't mean they aren't as commited as their peers. It simply means that their sexual preference is different. As soon as society quits putting gay men and women in a seperate category from the rest of us, the closer we will come to closing the door to the segregation that gay men and women have had to face in the military.

What exactly has been accomplished by the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy? It really offers no protection for gay people in the Armed Forces, and may even indirectly violate their rights, by creating a stigma of homosexualty for others. Are we still trying to make the statement that it's all right to be gay, just as long as no one has to know about it? Times were very different in 1993, when former president Bill Clinton singed the policy. It was put into place as a compromise with legislature, who as a whole, were not ready to completely repeal the prior ban on gays in the military. Now, sixteen years later, isn't it time to remove this ambiguous arrangement from the books?

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