"Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

An interesting topic that has come up recently in the news is the military policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” An independent Senator named Joseph Lieberman introduced a bill that would repeal the ban on openly gay service members in the military, but at a hearing later in the day Republican lawmakers questioned why lifting the ban was necessary. Lieberman introduced the bill in response to Obama’s pledge to end the 17-year-old “don’t ask don’t tell.” This law allows gay men and lesbians to serve in the armed services only if they keep their sexual orientation secret. At the hearing panel, there was the statistic given that from 1999 to 2008, 1.9 million people were discharged by the Department of Defense, including 8,300 because of the “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Gender is personal and I believe it should remain that way and it allows people to live their lives freely, but without fear of reprisal.