Bush's stop loss policy enforced - Gays sue for reinstatement

Bush's stop loss policy enforced - Gays sue for reinstatement

Will the Iraq war oddly bring gays safely out of the closet in the armed forces ? That is one of the strange twists in the tangled web of war overseas and at home in the United States.

Just last week a group of soldiers filed a law suit to get out of the Armed Forces. That same day 12 former armed forces personnel were trying to get back in. The former personnel all had good records of service, yet were let go because they were gay or lesbian.

So we have 100's of thousands of parents, wives and husbands and children all over the United States worried about their loved one being in Iraq. Most of these people would do just about anything to have their loved one back in the United States. Over 1,000 of those loved ones have not returned alive.

So it is a bit odd to see people trying to get back in. I mean the whole of the armed forces is having trouble recruiting. One group of capable, well trained and ready to re-enlist are gays and lesbians. They have already been trained and served honourably in the past.

University of California-Santa Barbara's Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities researchers have found that many gays and lesbians, including Army Ranger Brian Hughes, who helped rescue POW Jessica Lynch, served openly in Iraq and Afghanistan without problems from their comrades.

So although I find it odd that anyone wants to enlist, it maybe that the next break in advancement of rights for gays and lesbians will occur in the armed forces of America. Who would have thought that?

God Bless America for all it's opportunities.

With files from: Journal Gazette

See: Junior enlisted personnel more pro-gay than commissioned and non-commissioned officers in the United States military and America the Beautiful, Not so for Gays