Imagine having to live your life as a lie. For gay and lesbian Americans, this is not the stuff of the imagination, but rather, for all of us at some point in our lives, the cold reality that envelops us.
There are, however, only a few career paths that require us to continue those lies as a condition of entering them. One of them, the United States military, is now being cleared by history, circumstance, and the hard work of Progressive champions like my Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand.
The Advocate: Gillibrand Proposes End to DADT Funding
Calling the recent “don’t ask, don’t tell” hearings an “important first step,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced Saturday that she plans to introduce an amendment to ban funding for the enforcement of the policy.
Gillibrand made the announcement at the Human Rights Campaign gala dinner in New York City, where she delivered the keynote address to a core constituency of gay donors assembled at the Waldorf Astoria.
During the speech Gillibrand reviewed how she has championed ending the military ban since being appointed to the New York seat vacated by Hillary Clinton last year. Gillibrand, a Democrat, faces a potential primary challenge from Harold E. Ford Jr. this fall.
“I am leading this fight because I believe strongly that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is a threat to the men and women in our armed services, and a threat to our national security,” she said.
[...]
“Tonight, I am announcing that I plan to introduce an amendment to the budget that will bar the use of funds for the enforcement of this policy,” she said.
Senator Gillibrand's announcement comes in the wake of a rising wave of courage among public servants and members of the military itself. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen,declared to the Senate Armed Forces Committee that
“No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens,” Mullen said. “For me, it comes down to integrity — theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.”
And make no mistake: under our laws, ending the funding for this Jim Crow abortion of a policy effectively strangles it for the time being. Meanwhile, we need to put Congress on record to pass the legislative repeal. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is leading the charge to do just that.
This is clearly only a first step. The GLBT Civil Rights movement has seen its share of reversals, too many to count, and too many too recent.
But at the very least, perhaps we will soon be able to serve our country with honor, not in the shadows, but in the bright shining daylight that is our common birthright as Americans.
[Update]: Totally forgot about this - sorry, blond - but Kirsten just launched something that lets the people affected by DADT tell their own stories. Check out the Don't Ask Don't Tell Story Project to read what it's really like.