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Lt. Dan Choi Gay U.S. Army Arabic Linguist: You Didn’t Ask, He Told, He’s Fired!
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Just imagine you are a West Point graduate who is also an officer in the Army National Guard. You are fluent in Arabic and you recently came back from a tour of duty in Iraq. Then you received notice the military is about to fire you. You’re going to be getting a pink slip because you disclosed your sexual preference. You announced you are gay.
That’s what happened to Lt. Dan Choi. He is one of the founding members of Knights Out, an organization of 35 gay and lesbian military officers , graduates of West Point, America’s prestigious military academy for Army officers, who say they refuse to live a lie. The incongruity is astounding when you consider they’ve been trained as West Point cadets to not lie, to not cheat and to not steal.
These GLBT officers say the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law is illegal, immoral and unethical. They say it’s just plain bad law.
President Barack Obama agrees. The president has stated he “intends to fulfill my commitment by repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” He says it will take some time because the congress is involved in changing the law.
We think that is a too convenient cop out. If over the past eight years the office of the president used its powers to harm people and disrupt lives by using written presidential directives, we believe this administration is compelled to use the same powers to restore lives.
The military officers and troops, more than 1100 dismissed so far this year alone for disclosing their sexual orientation, each deserve to receive an honorable discharge and associated benefits for service to their country.
Are we so top heavy in Arabic linguists we can afford to be firing any of them who can best demonstrate our sincerity to re-establish good will in the Middle East?
A law that forces men and women to live a lie in order to express love of their country is wrong and should be repealed.
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