Jun 17, 2009 06:00 PM
The Struggle Continues: Don't Ask, Don't Tell Wednesday, June 17 6pm FREE reception from 5-6pm Pritzker Military Library, 610 N. Fairbanks Court Free Admission Reservations required. Click here to register for this program. Barack Obama has stated in unequivocal terms that he intends to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that bans military recruiters or authorities from asking someone about his or her sexual preference, and also prohibits a service member from revealing if he or she is gay. But he must get the support of Congress to do so. A bill introduced in the last Congress would have implemented a “policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,” going one step further than the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but it never came up for a full vote, and was re-introduced this March. The ramifications of these policy changes are hotly debated in both the military and civilian community. Is the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell a sound decision, or is the policy a necessary one for a smooth-running military? If Obama does repeal the policy, is now the right time to do so, or should he wait until our armed forces are no longer overextended? Join us for a provocative debate on gay rights in the military in this second installment of our “Struggle Continues” series.