In the LGBT Community, I’m really not sure if the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is a lower or higher priority than the recognition of gay marriage, but they are both are higher priorities than the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Nevertheless, this is an important development.
The Pentagon has advised recruiting commands that they can accept openly gay and lesbian recruit candidates, given the recent federal court decision that bars the military from expelling openly gay service members, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman.
The guidance from the Personnel and Readiness office was sent to recruiting commands on Friday, according to spokeswoman Cynthia Smith.
The recruiters were told that if a candidate admits he or she is openly gay, and qualify under normal recruiting guidelines, their application can be processed. Recruiters are not allowed to ask candidates if they are gay as part of the application process.
The notice also reminded recruiters that they have to “manage expectations” of applicants by informing them that a reversal of the court decision might occur, whereby the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy could be reinstated, Smith said.
It’s standard practice for the Attorney General’s office to defend federal statutes, but the president clearly intends to end the DADT policy before the end of the year, and this move by the Pentagon should make that clear. The Senate Republicans appear to be fairly unified in their hatred of gay people, so I don’t think we can pass ENDA or repeal the DOMA, but that depends on the results of the Senate elections.