Allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military is a step toward equality, advocates say, but a fight for other social changes such as gay marriage still lies ahead.
The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year ban on openly gay troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as don't ask, don't tell.
It's one step in a very long process of becoming an equal rights citizen, said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Ga., who served in the Army for seven years, including three combat tours, before being kicked out two years ago under the policy. He said he planned to re-enlist once the policy is abolished.
Even though this is really huge, I look at it as a chink in a very, very long chain, he added.
Supporters declared the vote a civil rights milestone.
Aaron Belkin, director of the California-based Palm Center ââ¬â a think tank on the issue ââ¬â said the vote ushers in a new era in which the largest employer in the United States treats gays and lesbians like human beings.
For thousands of years, he said, one of the key markers for first-class citizenship in any nation is the right to serve in the military, and Saturday's vote is a historic step toward that.
Repeal means that for the first time in U.S. history, gays will be openly accepted by the military and can acknowledge their sexual orientation without fear of being discharged. More than 13,500 service members have been dismissed under the 1993 law. Before that, they had been explicitly barred from military service since World War I.
The change won't take immediate effect, however. The legislation says the president and his top military advisers must certify that lifting the ban won't hurt troops' fighting ability. After that, there's a 60-day waiting period for the military.
Full Story: http://www.aolnews.com/story/gays-see-repeal-as-a-civil-rights/1472358/
The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year ban on openly gay troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as don't ask, don't tell.
It's one step in a very long process of becoming an equal rights citizen, said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Ga., who served in the Army for seven years, including three combat tours, before being kicked out two years ago under the policy. He said he planned to re-enlist once the policy is abolished.
Even though this is really huge, I look at it as a chink in a very, very long chain, he added.
Supporters declared the vote a civil rights milestone.
Aaron Belkin, director of the California-based Palm Center ââ¬â a think tank on the issue ââ¬â said the vote ushers in a new era in which the largest employer in the United States treats gays and lesbians like human beings.
For thousands of years, he said, one of the key markers for first-class citizenship in any nation is the right to serve in the military, and Saturday's vote is a historic step toward that.
Repeal means that for the first time in U.S. history, gays will be openly accepted by the military and can acknowledge their sexual orientation without fear of being discharged. More than 13,500 service members have been dismissed under the 1993 law. Before that, they had been explicitly barred from military service since World War I.
The change won't take immediate effect, however. The legislation says the president and his top military advisers must certify that lifting the ban won't hurt troops' fighting ability. After that, there's a 60-day waiting period for the military.
Full Story: http://www.aolnews.com/story/gays-see-repeal-as-a-civil-rights/1472358/
