The Beginning of the End for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

The lead article in today’s New York Times, “U.S. Judge Halts ‘Don’t Ask’ Law for the Military,” probably represents the beginning of the end for this artificial construction, originally proposed as a compromise for the military.

The compromise was crafted by President Clinton in an attempt to allow military service by gay men and women without alienating the military brass where there was strong opposition. It was a lukewarm construction engendering little enthusiasm on either side of the issue.

Today, the general population, as well as the military, seems to have moved beyond the culture wars that once dominated this issue, with the widely held opinion that open service by gays does not affect military readiness or execution of duties. The decision by the judge, Virginia A. Phillips, almost feels anticlimactic as the Senate was preparing to enact similar legislation abandoning the policy, and even hawks such as Senator McCain are waiting for a military review before reaching a stand on the issue.

Whatever your religious beliefs, it seems to me that people who are not of the same persuasion should be free to pursue their First Amendment rights as guaranteed by the Constitution, as long as those rights don’t affect the rest of us.