An Outspoken Champion of Repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the U.S. Senate

by Michael Jones · 2009-10-17 04:20:00 UTC
Topics:

U.S. Military

There are plenty of U.S. Senators that oppose "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the discriminatory military policy that bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the Armed Services, and fires those soldiers that do come out of the closet.

Senators from Harry Reid to Kirsten Gillibrand have blasted the policy as a relic from the 1990s that hurts our national security and undermines military credibility. Joining them this week was Sen. Mark Udall, the freshman Senator out of Colorado, who not only forcefully condemned "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," but said that if Obama wanted him to, he'd be willing to be an outspoken champion for repealing the failed military policy.

Sen. Udall fired off a letter to President Obama this week that said, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell is antiquated and no longer reflects the reality of our society."

That's good...but is there more? Yup, and it hits even harder.

"As we fight in two wars, it's counter-productive - and frankly, expensive - to discharge men and women who have critical skills we need to win those wars, just because they're gay," Udall wrote. "[It is] past time to repeal this failed policy. We need to take steps now so we can replace 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' with a policy that prevents discrimination against service members based on their sexual orientation."

The White House also met with Sen. Joe Lieberman this week to see how far he'd be willing to go in championing the cause of a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal. So while it may be slow, it FINALLY looks like the White House and Congress are turning the wheels toward an eventual repeal of this bad policy. Now it's just our job to make sure they do it faster than the pace at which Democrats and Republicans usually get things done in Washington.

(Photo courtesy of the National Guard's photostream on Flickr.)

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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