by Wayne Douma

Created on: February 07, 2010

The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" military law was signed into action by Bill Clinton, a generally well beloved Democratic President.  This is a reminder that the military goes beyond partisan politics of Democrat and Republican, but instead focuses on our nation's security.  That being said, the way the military is currently structured is getting their job done. 

The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is there to protect homosexuals who do serve currently in the United military.  There seems to be a common misunderstanding by many gay rights activists and fringe leftists that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is some sort of racist policy, and that it is homophobia in some form.  These groups must not have studied the reasoning for implementation of this policy, or why we have it in the United States military. 

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" occured as a result of the deaths of homosexual members of the military in the early 1990s.  Before the policy military could serve openly gay, and this resulted in the brutal deaths of some active military because of their sexual preference.  The US military like anywhere else in the US is made up a collection of beliefs and ideals, and some of these are not so "gay friendly".  These open serving members acted on their sexuality, told everyone they were gay, and were beaten to death as a result of this. 

The response to this was "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to protect the brave men and women serving in the military that happen to be homosexual.  It is not a law to restrict homosexuals, but instead it is there to protect them.  

Some might argue that the policy is outdated and that we are no longer in the 1990s but instead in 2010.  I argue that one should research hate crimes against someone for their sexuality, and they would realize that 1992 or 2010, they still occur.  President Barack Obama needs to appeal to his left side base of support, but this is not the way to do it.  Repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" could prove t have drastic consequences for a homosexual movement in the mainstream.  After the California Prop 8 vote one cannot deny the impact homosexual lobbying has had on issues throughout the country.  The President seems willing to throw this all away with a simple repealing of a law that is in place to protect one's sexuality.     

Learn more about this author, Wayne Douma.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.