Don’t Ask, Don’t Care?
While 12,000 men and women have been discharged from the military under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the 15 years since its inception, the number of gay servicemen and servicewomen discharged annually has plummeted from 1,200 in 2001 to 600 in 2007. In December, Army Sergeant Darren Manzella told 60 Minutes that after outing himself to his commanding officer, he was ultimately ignored, and was told to return to work. Cholene Espinoza, a former Air Force Captain who retired from the military in order to live openly as a lesbian, told the news program she knows of at least 500 such cases, where gay officers were permitted to serve despite overwhelming evidence of their sexual orientation. The trend seems to have evolved out of the mounting demand for service members as the war wages on. Surprise.
What Do You Think?