Saturday, December 18, 2010

Killing two men and loving one: What the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell means to some people

To give an idea how important is the decision to end the discriminatory policy against gays and lesbians think of this figure. It is estimated that one million people served in the US military while remaining in the closet. What suffering. Then read the following and absorb it, again the suffering and torment.

In the 1970s Air Force Tech Sgt. Leonard Matlovich challenged the ban on gays. After dying of AIDS, the Vietnam veteran was buried beneath a nameless tombstone that spoke for all gays who served in silence:"When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one." It is a major victory that this law has been repealed. Now to win all the rights for gay and lesbian people that the rest of us have.

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