About a week after the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was "struck down," a United States appeals court decided that a ban on gays serving in the military would be reinstated, at least temporarily. The U.S. military continues to struggle with how they can integrate gays into the military without making dramatic changes. Despite how much the United States has been struggling over the issue of gays in the military, many other countries around the world "allow gay personnel to serve openly." "Don't ask, don't tell" was established under the Clinton administration in 1993. The policy made it so that military officials were not allowed to inquire about sexual orientation, but if any individual was found to be gay, they would be released. Following the decision about the policy, many former servicemen who were found to be gay and expelled from the service attempted to re-enlist.
I am glad that the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was struck down, but that doesn't mean that the United States is making any progress in allowing homosexual individuals to be treated equally. There are still many areas of society in which they face great discrimination. Also, I think it is wrong for there to be temporary ban on gays in the military while a final decision is still being awaited. For a country that prides itself in being free, we sure do a good job of discriminating and preventing all people from having freedom.
Source: BBC News - "Court allows Pentagon to re-instate ban on gay soldiers"
I agree with your opinion about how silly it is that the government keeps the don't ask don't tell policy active while they make a decision on whether or not gays should be allowed to serve in the military. We are a free nation, basing our integrity on being equal, and yet we can't allow people who are different but still want to serve our country have the same opportunities as others. We shouldn't discriminate against gays just because it makes a few people uncomfortable. If they want to help our country, i say more power to them.
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