With the 14th anniversary of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” upon us, 28 retired generals and admirals are releasing a joint statement that condemns’ the practice according to the NY Times this morning. This couldn’t be better timing in my humble opinion. Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when the ridiculous policy was adopted,now argues for its repeal as well. From the NYT writeup:
“We respectfully urge Congress to repeal the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy,” the letter says. “Those of us signing this letter have dedicated our lives to defending the rights of our citizens to believe whatever they wish.”
The retired officers offer data showing that 65,000 gay men and lesbians now serve in the American armed forces and that there are more than one million gay veterans.
“They have served our nation honorably,” the letter states.
The letter’s release comes as rallies are scheduled on the Mall by groups calling for a change in the law, which is known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” because it bars the military from investigating soldiers’ sexual orientation if they keep it to themselves.
The only thing I wish to add is this: If they can die for our country, they sure as hell can come out of the friggin closet you homophobic s.o.b.’s.
