DON'T ASK DON'T TELL

I am reprinting an editorial on Don't Ask Don't Tell, which appeared in the Nov 10-Dec 11 issue of
FREEDOM SOCIALIST.
Please check out this good paper at
http://www.socialism.com/

"AN APPEAL TO GAY AND LESBIAN SOLDIERS----

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the policy of excluding open lesbians and gays from the military, must be overturned.  It is archaic, unfair and unconstitutional.

As well as an indictment of the Democratic president who won votes by promising to end it and then muscled in to save it--just as he pledged to end US war making but instead has expanded it.

The right wing and many top military brass say that the presence of out and proud gays and lesbians in the armed forces would be subversive.  When it comes to the US military, this would be an infinitely good thing.  No institution needs subverting more.

The first soldier who went to jail for refusing to fight in Iraq on grounds of conscience, Stephen Funk, is gay.  Before his conviction, he wrote an eloquent statement explaining his decision and appealing to other young people in the military to overcome their training "to be subordinate in our thoughts, words and actions" and to exercise their instincts for compassion and solidarity.

"You don't have to be a cog in the machinery of war," Funk wrote.  "Everyone has the unconquerable power of free will."

LGBTQ folk in the military can play a key role in ending the scourge of US wars and occupations, with their unbearable consequences at home and abroad.  RESIST!"