Obama most likely to reverse "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy

Personally, I'm not in favor of gay activism, but I also feel that people who are openly gay have their rights as all people do. So many people are concerned about so many issues and wonder 'what will Obama do?" on so many things. As reported by CNN, a YouTube video that came out on Janary 10, 2009 states that Barack Obama is now "committed in ending the policy that bars openly gay men and women from serving in the U.S. armed forces." Obama spokesman says "So not everything will get done in the beginning but he's committed to following through with ending the policy against being openly gay in the military."

So what is known about policy called "don't ask, don't tell"? In a nutshell, it means that military recruiters and other authorities will be barred from asking someone about his or her sexual preference, but at the same time would prevent a service member from revealing whether or not he or she is gay. Barack Obama vows to work on ending that policy, allowing the armed services to ask the question, along with allowing the service member to answer the question.

The existing "don't ask, don't tell" policy has been in place since the beginning of the Clinton administration, but not favored by him. In matter of fact, he tried to overturn the policy, but he faced very stern opposition regarding it from the military leadership. So this is another one of those issues that will face Obama to test his ability to get things done. It is the opinion of the author of this blog that the military should have the right to ask the question, and that military personnel should provide the answer.

During the last Congress session, there was a bill that had 149 co-sponsors that was introduced in the House that would have implemented "a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation." But the bill never came up to a full vote in the house and it has yet to be re-introduced in the new Congress. Once the bill is signed by both the House and the Senate, the bill can be presented to President Obama and will immediately take effect.

The bottom line here is that openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military. Recently there has been a poll taken to reflect that fact. It also is a good idea for the U.S. military to know outright who outwardly state that they are gay and who outwardly state that they are not.