60 Minutes Fallout with Don't Ask Don't Tell

Army Sgt. Darren Manzella figured that stating he was gay on national television would surely get him booted from the military under the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

But Manzella has heard nothing in the three weeks since he told CBS' 60 Minutes that his fellow soldiers knew he was gay and the program aired a home video that showed him kissing a former boyfriend.

"I thought I would at least be asked about the segment or approached and told I shouldn't speak to the media again," says Manzella, 30, a medic who recently returned from Kuwait and plans to hold a news conference today in Washington to discuss the military's silence.

He says he is among a growing number of servicemembers who have told other troops and even commanders they are gay and have not been discharged. (source)

I remember seeing this episode before Christmas. Sgt. Manzella was very brave and honest about being out in the military. In fact, when he showed the tapes that he turned over to the military with him and his boyfriend kissing (I thought Leslie Stahl was going to... well, stall -- her only comment was "OH MY!!!"), I was sure that it would be the end of his military career. Or, I thought that some homophobic soldier would have an "accident" and accidentally shoot him. Guess what, nothing happened. It's astonishing. Or maybe, the military has become more evolved than we think. Or maybe (the cynical in me) the military has decided to leave the issue be while we are in desperate need of the gifts that soldiers like Sgt. Manzella brings to the military.

That's fine, but that's not good enough. It's not good enough because it does a disservice to soldiers like Manzella who are being asked to risk their lives for our country, and continue to have this cloud over their heads that could, at any minute, end their careers.