Sixty more days left.
My 62nd birthday takes place on September 23rd. DADT's final repeal is on September 20th.
On my 30th birthday, in 1979, I was informed by my Air Force attorney that my (forced) resignation had been approved. I had taught the first female-inclusive class at the Air Force Academy the previous academic year, but I had to resign simply because I was gay. In two months, no longer will someone be forced to resign as I was simply because he is gay.
How many men and women have been forced to resign over the years that not just DADT was in effect but all of the other excluding policies were in official policy? How many of those men and women are no longer with us, to experience the quiet satisfaction that I am feeling now with this impending repeal?
Whenever I began to doubt that this despicable policy would never be overturned in my lifetime, I thought of the lyrics by the late Sam Cooke: "It's been a long, long time coming; but a change gonna come. Oh yes, it will."
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