On the heels of a new report by the Government Accounting Office showing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has cost taxpayers more than $200 million since its inception in 1993 a group of congress members has announced plans to introduce legislation to end the ban on gays in the military.

More than 10,000 service members have been discharged over the last 10 years under the policy according to statistics from the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

Since 9-11 the number of gay discharges has dropped which SLDN says is an indication that when the nation’s security is at danger the military turns a blind eye to gays serving in the armed forces. (source)

Well, we all pay for Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. But as I read this article, I was also listening to the news on a different topic, that of “stop loss”. Because of “stop loss” soldiers who have completed their tour of duty can be called up for duty several times after their military careers are over. They are unable to leave the military because when President Bush declared that the United States was in a state of “nation emergency”, stop loss kicked in.

Except that is, for Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. You can still be kicked out of the military for being gay. I know the essence of the policy is terribly unfair and unjust and has been the destruction of many military careers. But after listening to these soldiers who are going back to Iraq for a second or third time, you have to wonder if the gay soldiers who have been kicked out are the lucky ones.

I honestly believe that our government doesn’t care about our troops. I’ve always been against the war in Iraq, but I’ve always supported our troops. I feel for what they are going through. I feel that to our government, they are nothing more than a number, and that’s a tragedy.