Ask. Tell.

On December 21, 1993, a policy that came to be known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was implemented. It was intended to provide a little bit of protection to gays and lesbians serving in the United States military, but in practice, it was a hellish fiasco, leading to the dismissal of hundreds of mission-critical service members, many with important language skills, during wartime.

Today, September 20, 2011, at 12:01 EDT, that policy ended.

That policy ended with remarkably little upheaval. The leaders of our military have supported this change for years. 97% of troops have gone through training and the military has distributed new regulations stating that “[a]ll service members are to treat one another with dignity and respect regardless of sexual orientation.” For most of the branches of the military, this is not a big day: this is business as usual, with the repeal being taken in stride and soldiers and service members simply being reminded to treat one another fairly.

Treat one another fairly.

People talk sometimes about a “gay agenda” — there you go. That’s it. Today is a huge milestone in our big gay agenda, if there is one: treat one another fairly. Today, people get to serve with pride in their country, and it doesn’t matter if they’re black, white, brown, or blue; it doesn’t matter if they’re male or female; and it doesn’t matter if they’re gay or straight. What matters is the dedication they have for their country. That’s fair, and we’re all stronger for it.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has been relegated to an ugly corner of history, over with segregation and the struggle for women’s suffrage. Spare a moment to celebrate its passing, and thank a service member the next time you see one.

P.S.: I want to deeply thank the amazing Strawberry Singh for patiently posing with me. She rocks.

Wearing:
On Strawberry:
Hair: elikatira — Later by elikapeka Tiramisu
Skin: Belleza — Chloe by Tricky Boucher
Dress: suzy — French Sleeve Dress by Arianrhod Garnet
Shoes: Gos — Espadrilles by Gospel Voom

On Vaki:
Hair: Jaryth’s Barber Shop — Clipper Cuts Sebastian by jarythe
Shirt: Defectiva — Vintage Error by Disembodied Hand
Tank: Vitamen — Ribbed Cotton Tank by Vitamen Hax
Trousers: NSD — Chinos by Naith Smit
Boots: Gos — Docs by Gospel Voom
Necklace: Mandala — Shamira by kikunosuke Eel

Poses: Storin by Annah Whitfield; Oh! Studio by Marcopol Oh