The Few, The Proud, The Brave

Several days ago I expressed my thanks to the lawmakers on Washington who voted to repeal the Don't Ask - Don't Tell policy. In doing so I forgot to thank some other very important people who were instrumental in having this policy reversed - those brave military soldiers who put their careers, reputations, and possibly even their lives on the line by standing up and demanding equal treatment. Through the years this policy was in place, thousands of qualified, dedicated brave Americans were released from service simply by being "outed" as gay or living their lives openly. Some of those brave Americans took it upon themselves to challenge the policy and those who support it for the better good of all homosexual people in the service. They used their unfortunate circumstances to help keep others from facing the same inequality.

So - to those brave gay soldiers who stood up and said "stop this!", who brought their cases to court, who lobbied for change - I say Thank You! You have done your job as an American soldier by protecting the rights and freedoms of everyone in this great country.