By Brian Tuck
Barrack Obama changes history for gays and lesbians
December 22nd was a historical day for gays and lesbians as Barrack Obama signs the repeal on the United States Army's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. Religious and right wing backlash have been promising to contest this to the fullest extent, but the difference another appeal will make is not likely to have much effect at this point. There has been a pink elephant sitting on the senate's desk for decades...and it just stood up.
Policy or no policy, we all know gays and lesbians have been serving in the military already. The question is, what does this mean for those who chose to be open? On principal alone, this is more than just a victory, but a reflection of how divided our society still is in terms of equal rights in other respects as well.
Repeal is a move in the right direction
The repeal on the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy is symbolic one. It's a step to protect openly or even suspected gay soldiers from systemic prejudice, rights to common law insurance and equal opportunity employment. Considering the army is a major employer and governing symbol of the western world, the awareness raised on this topic has the potential to act as a catalyst in other areas in which our governments have jurisdiction.
Awareness, plain and simple, can ensure future standardization of homosexual rights in society, a future where a person's equal rights are not debated at all. As we know, change doesn't happen overnight, it was only 1967 when interracial marriages were legalized in the United States, so it comes as no surprise gay marriage has had similar hurdles.
Not only is the repeal a move in the right direction, the media attention gets people talking at family dinner tables, office water coolers, classrooms and coffee shops. Getting people talking and exposing them to issues that do or respectively do not concern them is an even greater success.
Year of the Queer! Gay Marriage debates, It Gets Better campaigns, what's next?
This repeal is the icing on the cake for gay rights activists and GayCompatible.com has marked 2010 as "The year of the queer". Debates on gay marriage, It Gets Better campaigns to empower queer youth and loads of gay kissing on television, cap off an amazing year. A win in any equal rights forum is something all individuals and groups benefit from.
Will gay soldiers be more open about their sexual identities following the repeal? Probably no more than a heterosexual soldier is already. Considering all the opposition, perhaps even less for a short while in case of homophobic backlash behind the media's eyes. A "Who's Gay Today" section in the weekly Army newsletter is not expected anytime soon. Undoubtedly, what most people can learn from this repeal is to not assume all people identify as heterosexual in the first place.
Source: www.MSNBC.com, photo: www.guardian.co.uk
