I took a tour of West Point in August 2011 (one month before the full repeal of DADT) when everyone was still closeted, and now have hard time believing that I am seeing photos of openly gay and lesbian cadets. Life for the LGBT is shifting so fast, thank god!
Andrew Sullivan makes the same point in his blog, today:
There were around 30 gay cadets present, and then plenty of old boys (and girls), and military faculty. An older general was there – with his husband. It was a formal event held in a central building. And as I tried to absorb the moment, it occurred to me that a little over two years ago, all of those cadets would have been expelled for merely being there. Since the beginning of the institution, gay cadets were either subject to immediate discharge or, after 1993, under the policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, ordered to keep their sexual orientation secret or face dismissal. They were, in other words, forced to break the core ethic of the place – “a cadet will not lie …” – in order to remain in good standing with it. And it was that ancient alleged contradiction – between military honor and homosexuality – that was being dissolved that night.Andrew's full post
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