Army fires 11 for being gay

Before taking office, President Obama announced The Obama-Biden Plan to outline what his administration will work towards. One of the proposals was to end don’t-ask-don’t-tell in the military.

But then the administration backpeddled a little and it became less of a priority.

As we all know, Obama was sworn in as President in January (two times!). That same month, the army fired eleven soldiers for being gay.

The Army fired 11 soldiers in January for violating the military’s policy that gay service members must keep their sexuality hidden, according to a Virginia congressman.

Democratic Rep. Jim Moran said he has requested monthly updates from the Pentagon on the impact of the policy until it is repealed. In a statement released on Thursday, Moran said the discharged soldiers included an intelligence collector, a military police officer, four infantry personnel, a health care specialist, a motor-transport operator and a water-treatment specialist.

“How many more good soldiers are we willing to lose due to a bad policy that makes us less safe and secure?” asked Moran, a member of the House panel that oversees military spending.

Last November, it was reported that more than 100 retired generals and admirals have called for the repeal of the policy. Earlier than that in July an ABC News poll showed the same trend with average citizens.

An ABC poll in July found that three-quarters of Americans supported allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military compared to 44 percent of Americans who expressed the same support in 1993, when President Bill Clinton approved “don’t ask, don’t tell” as what he called an “honorable compromise” that nevertheless bitterly disappointed his supporters in the gay community.

Moran is correct. This policy is terrible. Always was, always will be. It prevents American citizens from joining the military based on outdated and bigoted reasoning. Being gay isn’t a crime. It isn’t illegal. It shouldn’t be a roadblock to being in the military. Or anything else, for that matter.