It’s about time

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Recently, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that it’s time to allow gay men and women to serve openly in the military.

Shortly after Mullen’s declaration, Colin Powell, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs and a former secretary of state, did an about-face and came out in favor of letting gays serve openly. Before, he had championed the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” concept perpetrated by the Clinton administration.

Well, it’s about time. Gay men and women have the right to be who they are and to serve their country. We can think of nothing bad that will come of allowing them to serve.

In Israel, gays serve openly, and there are few, if any, armies better at fighting than the Israelis.

We need to remember, too, that once upon a time, blacks weren’t welcome in the military, at least not in regular units. They were given their own units, although with white officers.

Despite this segregation, they served with distinction. But it took Executive Order 9981, promulgated by President Harry Truman, to finally desegregate the armed forces.

Oh, there were cries against it, but in the end, of course, our military is stronger because of allowing men and women of color to serve.

The same will be true with gay men and women. They have a lot to offer, and banning them or kicking them out when their homosexuality is discovered is not only counterproductive, it’s inimical to the interests of America.

And, of course, it’s un-American.

But let’s forget philosophy and just take it from a purely national-interest point of view: Why get rid of a qualified fighter pilot or a Navy corpsman or a Marine code-breaker because of his or her sexual orientation? He or she has been trained. He or she has proved he or she can do the job, and suddenly, we want to boot them out because of whom they love? That makes no sense, either economically or militarily.

The military needs people who can do complicated and important jobs. Gay men and women, like straight men and women, can do those jobs, and should be allowed to do so.

Kudos to Mullen for realizing that and speaking out. And to Powell? It’s about time, sir.