I’m proud to call Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) my countryman, my statesman, and one of my brethren, and I fully support the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. But I think some of the arguments in favor of repeal are incomplete and, also, misleading.
The most convincing claim for eliminating the policy is anachronistically grounded – it’s simply out of date. It went into place in 1993. That was one year before Pedro Zamora appeared in MTV’s third season of The Real World, which was arguably mainstream America’s induction into gay-awareness and the start of a civil movement that is, clearly, still moving.
It’s silly to say that the policy is for the protection of would-be gay service members. The fact is that there are already gay men and women serving in the military, and I can tell you from experience that most everybody serving with them, even and especially in the combat arms, doesn’t give a shit. Those people that do are fringe subjects anyway, and the odds are that they are the ones who would be marginalized should those sentiments find a voice.
But the numbers argument doesn’t hold much water. If were concerned about filling the ranks it might be more effective to press for a relaxation of the physical standards that determine if one is fit for duty. The last time I checked, bowleggedness doesn’t preclude one from performing administrative work.
P.s. If Michele Bachman can be appointed to serve on a Federal Intelligence Committee, then no one can say that WikiLeaks poses a national security threat!
