Don't Ask, Don't Tell Abolished with Obama's Pen

At 9:35 AM, this morning, the United States military's policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell was officially repealed with President Obama's signature. The repeal process was a roller coaster of a ride, with its fate in doubt much of the time. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was an amazing leader on this, seeing to it that the House of Representatives had the opportunity to vote in favor of this historic legislation twice, squeezing it into the tight agenda. This was done to accommodate the Senate, which dragged it's feet under the leadership of Senator Reid, whom although came through at the end, remains a big disappointment in my book.

The implementation of the new military policy will take some time to go into effect (estimates of within months, not years), but the hard part is now behind us. This step in gay rights' history is huge. This change marks a turning point in our country's acceptance of the GLBT community. Although, the ride will continue to be slow, and there will be set-backs along the way, this is one huge step forward for equality. As the courts take up our cases, fighting for marriage equality, it will now just be a matter of time until every LGBT person in the United States is treated fairly and equally under federal and state law. The battle might not be immediately won with the first court case (although it stands a good chance), but the war as a whole, will eventually lead to true equality, and I think it will be relatively soon in my lifetime. And, I am more hopeful than not, that the high court will side in our favor on the Proposition 8 gay marriage ban -- eventually leading to full marriage equality throughout the United States.