HomoQuotable - Aubrey Sarvis

"A story in Sunday's Boston Globe asserts that the Obama Administration is telling the Pentagon and gay rights activists that "it will have to study the implications for national security and enlist more support in Congress" before trying to overturn "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The sources cited for this information are "people involved in the discussions" -- in a word, that well known and ever useful reporter's friend 'anonymous.' [snip]

"Let's be clear: a commission or a study group is not about change. That's business as usual. We do not need another report to tell us what we already know and what earlier reports have long since concluded: the sexual orientation of a service member is irrelevant. What is relevant is how well he or she does the job.

"So let's just skip another study. Let the new Administration display the courage of its convictions instead. Let them match their campaign promises with timely action. We'll continue to hold the President's feet to the fire but not in it -- yet. I'm optimistic that Congress and the Administration, without resorting to yet another study, can throw out the single remaining law that permits, indeed demands the firing of someone because of his or her sexual orientation. Despite the fears of some, sexual orientation is not contagious nor is it a choice. Tinky Winky the Teletubby never made anyone gay -- or straight, for that matter. As mounting evidence suggests, we're born that way.

"In this country, we don't fire people because of the genes they're born with. We've come to understand that to protect the rights of the minority is to protect the rights of the majority as well. We're all in this together, folks. Put those outdated fears aside and just do it. Yes, you can. Yes, we can." - Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, writing for the Huffington Post.