Will 66,000 LGBTQ Americans — And Their Families — Sleep Better Wednesday Night?
There are 66,000 active members of the United States military who are LGBTQ, according to the Williams Institute, as reported today in Advocate.com. 66,000. That’s more than three times the troop surge into Afghanistan President Obama ordered ten months ago — the one that prompted Defense Secretary Robert Gates to say of repealing DADT,
“I think the president and I feel like we’ve got a lot on our plates right now and let’s push that one down the road a little bit.â€
In his State of the Union address Wednesday night, President Obama is widely expected to announce his plans to address the disastrous “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that is responsible for ending the careers of more than 13,500 dedicated service men and women.
While the President has been in contact with the military and Congress on this issue, many are wondering who, if any, in the LGBTQ community he has directly consulted with. Is HRC, for example, making sure whatever changes to the policy are made are fair to members of our community?
Hopefully, the president will ask himself what impact losing 66,000 members of the military might have were DADT fully enforced — or if those brave men and women, serving their country, decided to come out.