Gays Serving in the Military … Openly

I don’t know why anyone would want to serve in the U.S. military these days, but I celebrate the belated recognition of gays to do so … openly:

The government’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is a violation of due process and First Amendment rights. Instead of being necessary for military readiness, the policy has a direct and deleterious effect on the armed services…

In order to justify the encroachment on these rights, defendants [the U.S government] faced the burden at trial of showing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Act was necessary to significantly further the government’s important interests in military readiness and unit cohesion. Defendants failed to meet that burden.

(From ruling of U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips, The Washington Post, September 10, 2010)