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Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT), the Clinton-era policy of allowing gays to serve in the military as long as they remained in the closet, was finally repealed yesterday:

The U.S. military will for the first time in history allow gays to serve openly after the Senate voted Saturday to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," the policy that has required such troops to hide their sexual identity or risk being expelled from the services.

Yesterday was indeed a historic day, not unlike when President Truman integrated the Armed Forces back in 1948. But this time, it's the Legislature which is rolling back a discriminatory policy, making it next to impossible to rescind:

"This is the defining civil rights initiative of this decade," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. "Congress has taken an extraordinary step on behalf of men and women who've been denied their rightful integrity for too long."

It was unclear whether Obama could just end DADT by Executive order:

President Obama claims he must defend and enforce the ban on gays serving in the military, even though he opposes it. But most experts in constitutional and military law say he has other options.

Nonetheless, that is all moot now since we have a law, written by Congress, officially banning discrimination of gays in the military. Unfortunately it came far too late for many who have been discharged since Clinton enacted DADT back in 1993:

For decades, being gay was grounds for discharge, and tens of thousands of service members were forced out after their sexual identities were exposed. President Bill Clinton, who had hoped to end that ban, authorized "don't ask" as a compromise in 1993. More than 13,000 troops have been discharged under the policy.

What a shame that it's taken so long for society to come around to the idea, as Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon stated in yesterday's debate:

"I don't care who you love. If you love this country enough to risk your life for it, you shouldn't have to hide who you are."

Amen to that!

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