‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ is discriminatory

Tom Harper, Henderson

Friday, Dec. 17, 2010 | 2:04 a.m.

As a former intern and staff member of the late U.S. Sen. Howard Cannon of Nevada, I was proud to read that one of Cannon’s administrative aides, Aubrey Sarvis, is the director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which is working hard to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.” As one of your recent writers aptly stated, wounded soldiers in a bunker don’t ask fellow soldiers who rescued them whether they are straight or gay.

While I cannot speak for the late senator, I believe that Cannon — who served in the Army in World War II, the Army Air Corps and who retired as a major general in the Air Force Reserve — would be most proud of Sarvis’ efforts. A Pentagon report issued this month found that a strong majority of our military men and women and their families support the repeal.

Further, President Barack Obama said “don’t ask, don’t tell” “weakens our national security, diminishes our military readiness and violates fundamental American principles of fairness and equality from preventing patriotic Americans who are gay from serving openly in our armed forces ...”

The law is not only discriminatory but it also weakens our national security in that soldiers are dismissed simply because of their sexual orientation without any reflection on the service performed by that soldier. This results in the loss of that soldier’s experience and training, to the detriment of our national security.

This is not the way our best and bravest Americans willing to make the utmost sacrifice to this nation should be treated. Instead, they deserve the utmost dignity, honor and equality.