http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/opinion/20mon1.html?ref=opinionMore than 14,000 soldiers lost their jobs and their dignity over the last 17 years because they were gay, but there will be no more victims of this injustice. The nation’s military is about to send a message of tolerance and shared purpose to the world — now that political leaders, who voted for legalized bigotry in the armed forces in 1993 and kept it alive since then, have found the strength to stand up and end it.
The Senate vote on Saturday afternoon to allow open service by gay and lesbian soldiers was one of the most important civil rights votes of our time. The ringing message of the decision to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law will carry far beyond its immediate practical implications. Saturday may be remembered as the day when sexual tolerance finally become bipartisan.
Sadly, the vast majority of Republicans remained on the benighted side of the party line. Senator John McCain disgraced his distinguished military career by flailing against the vote, claiming it would be celebrated only in liberal bastions like Georgetown salons. But to the surprise even of supporters of repeal, eight Republican senators broke with party orthodoxy and voted with virtually every Democrat to end the policy. Fifteen House Republicans did the same on Wednesday. By focusing on history and decency, they took a stand of which their states can be proud. Perhaps a new moral momentum may even help them erase the remaining traces of prejudice in public life, including Washington’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriage.
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After the transformative vote, Mr. Obama said thousands of men and women would no longer have to live a lie in order to serve their country. As they begin this new chapter in their service, their country too will find itself transformed for the better.
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