"Today is a Good Day"

This morning, President Barack Obama signed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the 1993 bill that was designed to allow gay and lesbian Americans to serve freely, though not openly, in the U.S. military. There has been a lot of noise about DADT: it was unjust, discriminatory, dishonest, et cetera. That is all true. It was a bad bill, whose main purpose was to send a message to the military to stop killing gay people.

That goal was more or less accomplished. And, in an unexpected, backhanded way, DADT changed the nature of the debate about gays and lesbians in the armed forces. The conversation stopped (for the most part) being about stupid shower jokes as 12,000 to 15,000 Americans were discharged, one after another, for being the best and the brightest our country has to offer–like Air Force Major Margaret Witt and National Guard Retired Colonel Margaret “Grethe” Cammermeyer of Washington state, both of whom were on hand to witness today’s signing.

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The repeal of DADT will not take place immediately. The Pentagon has an 87-page implementation plan, and once that is reviewed, President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, each will have to certify that the repeal can proceed without harming unit cohesion and military readiness. After the certification, another 60 days will need to pass before the repeal is officially enacted.

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In the meantime, warring forces are suiting up for the next stage of the culture war. Discharged service-members are preparing to battle for reinstatement; colleges are gearing up to allow ROTC units and military recruiters back on campus; and social conservatives are searching for loopholes to keep gays and lesbians out of the military.

Tony Perkins, of the Family Research Council, plans to lead a drive to “[monitor] the effect of this radical change on the men and women in harm’s way. One way to do that is demanding specific measurables–like tracking the sexual assaults….” Mr. Perkins seems to be unaware that over 30 percent of female service-members report being assaulted by fellow soldiers; that more American servicewomen were raped by their fellows in Iraq and Afghanistan than killed in combat; and that these assaults are invariably committed by straight (i.e. heterosexual) men.

All Americans who do justice and love mercy welcome, encourage, and wholeheartedly support increased oversight of the military and enforcement of the law. The rule of law is meant to ensure that all people are treated equally, that offenders are prosecuted and victims protected.

Gays and lesbians are not a threat to unit cohesion or military readiness. Rape, murder, assault, and the “dumbing down” of the U.S. military, via groundless discharge or curtailed recruitment, are major threats, and today America takes the next step on the long road to repairing our broken uniformed services.

This morning, President Obama and Vice President Biden both opened their remarks with variations on “It’s a good day. Today is a very good day.” And it is a good day. It’s a day we should celebrate. But today is not the last day. This battle has been waged on American soil for 232 years. It’s not over yet, but that’s no reason not to break out your shiny hat and dance in the streets.

Celebrate the day, my friends, for tomorrow we are back in the trenches.