Yesterday, the United States Senate voted to kill the ban on gays and lesbians openly serving in the military. It was basically a government-sponsored discrimination. This law should have been gone long before the end of 2010 and now, it finally is. These people who risk their lives for their country should not have to hide who they are, as Senator Ron Wyden said,
“I don’t care who you love,” Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, said as the debate opened. “If you love this country enough to risk your life for it, you shouldn’t have to hide who you are.”
I still cannot believe some of the opposition arguments. Apparently, repealing this policy will harm the battle effectiveness of the military. It mocks itself! Fourteen thousand soldiers had to leave the army because of this policy. I do not see how a loss of this many people can be effective. It's really amazing how much Republicans will do to try to stop discrimination. Some even hinted that they might block an arms treaty with Russia. The US has finally joined the many other countries, some not as rich as it, that allow gays to serve openly in the military. Congratulations!
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Saturday struck down the ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military, bringing to a close a 17-year struggle over a policy that forced thousands of Americans from the ranks and caused others to keep secret their sexual orientation.
Read more at the
New York Times.
I really like how Obama has been working with Republicans to get things like this done. Today's headline was, "Obama locks up Republican votes for U.S.-Russia nuclear treaty". This is the type of thing I'd like to see Harper and Ignatieff work on. They certainly have their differences, but these two men have a lot in common. Working together may not be what some of their party members want but it certainly is what most Canadians want. Ignatieff has done that to some degree, but I think he could and wants to do more. Look to Obama as an example.
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