Does the end of DADT really equal justice?

[Skip Intro]

I don't know. It seems like a hollow victory to me. Yes, gays can sign up and put their lives on the line in (supposed) defense of the country. I don't know. It's always seemed like the last thing we'd want to be open. Marriage, on the other hand, that has always seemed to me to be the real fight, the real struggle. I don't get the vast attention to DADT vs equal marriage rights. Seems like a self-serving "token" to me. What about gays that don't want to join the military? I suck at explaining myself sometimes.

[NuclearDem]

1. It's a step in the right direction

We'll take this victory now, and we'll keep fighting hard as hell for gay marriage. :toast:

[sat110]

2. Its a big deal

If this does get repealed, that's really big
benefits and housing just to name a few will
follow, altrough I am not gay I have a few
friends who are and they say this would be a
big deal

TP

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Two different fights, in two different arenas. Both need to be fought

and won.

[Ozymanithrax]

4. A group long maligned by the majority has come closer to equal rights.

Yes, that is good.

Joining the military and serving openly and honestly on the same terms as their other soldiers in a all volunteer force is a choice some want to make. It is just a battle in a long fight.

[dkf]

5. Yeah I never understood why women wanted to fight for the right to be in combat.

[sarge43]

6. Because

1. What right? If an individual is in the service, then s/he is a potential target. Simply put, if I'm going to be shot at, I'd like to shoot back, at least be able to. Because of the combat restriction, servicewomen use to be ban even from small arms training. Further, care to define combat -- civil riot, nuclear exchange, all the possibilities in between?

2. Especially for officers, combat and combat related fields are the fast track to command and promotion; that's as it should be. However, can you say glass ceiling, uneven playing field, no playing field?

[KharmaTrain]

7. A Turning Point...

Up to this point we've had governments that have fought against any recognition of GLBT rights. Twenty years ago "sodomy" laws were still on the books in a majority of the states and enforced in some and polls supported them. This was the atmosphere DADT evolved from. A decade ago we started seeing a change in public opinion that has continued to move toward eliminiating the discrimination on major gay issues. While there have been glitches in the road (DOMA), the American public and now the political system is becoming accepting of GLBT within our society. Removing DADT is the first step that hopefully will lead to allowing full marriage and other rights that GLBT people are deprived of. This process, like so many in our political system, was so drawn out it can feel hollow but it does signify a change and sets the stage for more.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

8. "The Arc Of History Is Long But It Bends To Justice"

Dr. Martin Luther King.

One step at a time...