Don't Ask

The Don't Ask-Don't Tell-Don't Harrass policy has been standing for more than a decade. I ran across this article over at military.com and it got me to thinking about things.
I have friends who are gay- in and out of the military.
I have roomed with bisexual and lesbian soldiers in basic training, AIT and since I've been in Korea. I'm really not all that sure what the big fuss is about. We already have soldiers who get in conflicts over perceptions of this sort. There's also plenty of folks who just don't care that their roomate, friend, colleague, brother or sister in arms likes the same gender. There's always going to be differences. 50 years after segregation was outlawed, we still have racist folks in the world, and, sadly enough, even among the ranks of the military.
A policy cannot fix personnel.
At one point in time, I had told a gay friend of mine in the military that I really did think it was probably a bad idea to open this up and remove the policy, for fear of violence, and because living situations would undoubtedly become more stressful for some. This friend pointed out to me that violence already happens, and more often based on perceptions than known realities. That friend also pointed out to me that allowing soldiers to be open about their orientation would not force them to be such. Not all gay or lesbian soldiers want the spotlight. Not all of straight soldiers have an issue serving next to their homosexual counterparts.
While people in the civilian sector struggle to earn what most of us take as a basic human right- the right to marry- proud, patriotic and damn good soldiers are struggling just to be able to be honest. It would be a beautiful thing, to me, if I am able to stand up in uniform at my gay friends wedding, and watch her get married to her fellow (female) service member fiance.
We're brothers and sisters in arms, and I, for one, will not treat the people to my left and right as any less.