Don't Ask, Don't Tell...

By Jerilynn Sweet
In the online article, Judge Orderes Injunction on 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell', posted by the New York Times the writer explains how U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips issued a world wide injunction to stop the military use of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tel Policy. This policy as been in effect for 17 years and over the years has brought about a number of issues and people for and against it. On one hand the policy is considered an infringement on a homosexual soldier’s fundamental right under the Constitution. On the other hand one of the main reasons the policy was put into effect was not to disregard anyone rights but to protect the person from discrimination. While we like to think we live in a country full of tolerance and equality when it comes down to it its still not true. The policy was put into effect so that homosexuals would not be discriminated against for promotion and would not be emotionally or physically harmed by other soldiers. In part of the articel actually states "Under the 1993 policy, service men and women who acknowledge being gay or are discovered engaging in homosexual activity, even in the privacy of their own homes off base, are subject to discharge." This section of the law is the unconstitutional section that people are fighting against. The article also discusses how the Dept of Justice attorneys believe the decision to real this law should be left in the hands of Congress and not a judge. While she means well she is affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of US Soldiers both heterosexual and homosexual. And another issue arises in that you can change a law that's 17 years old but can you really change the mindset of the United States Military no matter how screwed up it may seem?