"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Is Officially Ended

The letter above is the official announcement from the United States Army letting everyone know that they have officially ended the odious "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that has been in effect since the Clinton administration. But it is not just the Army that has ended DADT. As of one minute past midnight today the policy was ended for all of America's military forces.

It was a given that this day would come ever since Congress passed a bill dictating DADT should end and the bill was signed into law by the president, but the military was given the authority to impose the new policy in their own way and after preparing their service members for the change. They have now done that, and it marks another step forward toward true equality in this country.

But while gays and lesbians can now proudly and openly serve in any branch of the military, the fight for equality is not over -- even in the military. That's because the anti-equality Defense of Marriage Act is still in effect. DOMA will keep the spouses/life partners of military members who are homosexual from receiving the same military benefits that heterosexuals receive. The next step for American equality will be to have DOMA either repealed or declared unconstitutional by a court.

Even so, this is a red-letter day for equality in the United States.