Yesterday, President Obama held a reception in the Whitehouse to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, the beginning of the modern gay rights movement. One story in particular from that reception was especially poignant:
Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, an Air Force officer who is facing expulsion proceedings after someone informed his superiors that he is gay, attended the reception as a guest of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which is challenging the policy. Colonel Fehrenbach said he introduced himself to the president after Mr. Obama spoke.
“I explained that I’m being thrown out as we speak, and that there was a sense of urgency for me,” Colonel Fehrenbach said. “He looked me in the eye and he said, ‘We’re going to get this done.’ ”
Colonel Fehrenbach is a highly decorated officer, the kind of person our military cannot afford to lose. It's a reminder that Fehrenbach isn't just fighting for his civil rights -- he is literally fighting for American national security and American freedom. As he told the AP in a story carried in the Dayton Daily News:
“I didn’t let him go,” said Fehrenbach, who has received nine air medals, including one for heroism, and flown 400 combat hours.
Fehrenbach said after talking with Obama, he felt confident “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” would eventually be repealed. But he said he was not sure it would happen before he is discharged. His case is before the Personnel Review Board, which is considering whether to recommend discharging him. After that, it will go to the Air Force secretary for review.
He said Obama told him that while 75 percent of the public supports repealing the policy, senior leaders in the military still need to be convinced.
“I said to him, ‘The people I serve with don’t care,’ ” Fehrenbach said. “This is a nonissue.”
More than 13,000 homosexuals have been discharged from the military because of their sexual preferences.
Think about that for a moment -- 13,000 men and women eager to serve this nation have been kicked out of the military for something that has nothign to do with their job performance. Moreover, for every victim of the DADT policy, there's many more who live in fear of being exposed, or who don't even bother joining the military in the first place.
DADT doesn't make sense. It's counterproductive. It's not in keeping with the American tradition of expanding -- not shrinking -- individual rights.
DADT must go, and when it does, we will be a stronger, safer, and more free nation because of it.