DAY 26: DADT Update

For almost a month now, we have been dedicating this blog completely to the end of DADT. If this is the first time you are reading this, take a look back at some of our previous entries.

Here are some numbers: Most allied forces working alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq allow individuals to serve openly regardless of sexual orientation. Studies of the militaries of Australia, Israel, Great Britain and Canada have shown open service to have no effect on enrollment or retention. The total number of countries allowing openly gay service is 26. The US and Turkey are the only two original NATO countries that still have bans in place. Today, there are at least 65,000 gay Americans serving on active duty and 1 million gay veterans in the United States, according to the Urban Institute. Under the law, at least one individual per day on average is fired because they are gay or lesbian. (Based on SLDN calculations of Pentagon data, 1993-2007). Almost 13,000 service members have been discharged since 1994.

Any thinking person will easily see that this is a bad policy and that it should be ended. President Obama said he would do just that. He didn't say when though. I guess that's what we need to be asking him - When Mister President? When?