Happy Holidays: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal Signed Into Law

It's shaping up to be a Happy New Year for gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) troops in the military: over the weekend, the Senate finally passed Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal, and this morning, President Barack Obama signed the bill into law.

DADT was an absurd policy which forced GLB servicemembers to stay in the military closet about their sexuality — they weren't supposed to tell, others weren't supposed to ask, and we could all live in a little fantasy land pretending that the only people who serve and die for our country are straight perfect zeroes on the Kinsey scale. It's the same land where the Air Force rides on magic carpets and members of the Army steer unicorns instead of tanks.

But back in the sphere of reality, there were gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons serving and dying for the American flag, and thousands of others being found out and shipped home no matter how important their expertise might be to the military. The policy came down hardest on lesbian and bisexual women in the service, who were discharged at a higher rate than their male counterparts. Meanwhile, challenges to the law from women like flight nurse Margaret Witt helped to bring the attention and criticism to the policy needed to bring it down.

In fact, DADT repeal ame about in large part due to the concerted efforts of LGBTQ organizations and activists, servicemembers and veterans organizations, the star power of celebrities like Lady Gaga, and finally military leaders who admitted that doing away with the absurd policy would just strengthen our military. DADT was not a gift from the Democratic party leadership: it represents a hard-fought victory by advocates and countless people who stepped into the role of "activist" with their opposition to this destructive policy. Kudos to them.

And a Happy New Year to everybody in the military service.

Photo credit: DVIDSHUB