Feel the Homomentum!

Top Defense Officials Seek to End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell':

The nation's top two Defense officials called on Tuesday for an end to the 16-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" law, a major step toward allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the United States military for the first time in its history.

"No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens," Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said it was his personal belief that "allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do."

But both Admiral Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told the committee they needed more time to review how to carry out the change in policy, which requires an act of Congress, and predicted some disruption to the armed forces.

...In the interim, Mr. Gates announced that the military was moving toward enforcing the existing policy "in a fairer manner" — a reference to the possibility that the Pentagon would no longer take action to discharge service members whose sexual orientation is revealed by third parties or jilted partners, one of the most onerous aspects of the law. Mr. Gates said he had asked the Pentagon to make a recommendation on the matter within 45 days, but "we believe that we have a degree of latitude within the existing law to change our internal procedures in a manner that is more appropriate and fair to our men and women in uniform."

It's a good start. Now let's get this thing done.

The official rationale for forcing soldiers into the closet has always been troop cohesion (or some wacky variation thereof)—which has long been debunked at this point. It's an unjust, homophobic, misogynistic policy; it's been a piece of shit policy from Day One that asked soldiers to fight for an equality they aren't afforded; and it's long past time to consign it to the dustbin of history.

Don't Stop, Don't Let the Door Hitcha Where the Good Lord Splitcha. Just be gone.