Coming Out

A few developments this year make it look more and more likely that my West Point tour guide will prove correct. Change is in the air. Significant court decisions in Texas, Georgia and Massachusetts may soon lead to the legalization of same-sex marriages. In the race for the White House, all nine candidates for the Democratic nomination support the repeal of "don't- ask-don't-tell"--the 1993 law that bars openly gay people from serving in the military. One candidate with more than a little weight on the subject is Gen. Wesley Clark, the former NATO commander who was himself a top West Point student. During a campaign in which Clark—a recently-declared Democrat—occasionally struggles to connect with voters, he's at his most genuine when describing the position that gay service members find themselves in. Either they deny who they are or they have to leave the job they love, he says. "It's a very sad thing," Clark said during one candidates' debate, "because a lot of these people wanted to serve."

Posted by filchyboy at December 14, 2003 12:33 PM | TrackBack