For those of you who seem to be rejoicing or lamenting the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, I have one suggestion – don’t bother.

First off, the legislation “repealing” the Clinton-era policy will, in fact, repeal the existing policy where employees would be allowed to remain silent about their sexual orientation.

However, the bill comes with no anti-discrimination policy for the military. That means, the military will have the full right to openly discriminate against those, who they feel are a lesser class of citizens.

Secondly, the legislation will only be adopted when the Pentagon feels like it will be “safe” enough to do so. This means, the repeal may not even be finalized. While Secretary Gates has openly said that the discrimination limits the military’s ability to function, he may not approve the repeal simply due to political complications.

On top of that, the Murphy bill comes with an additional $500 million in pork – calling for the creation of an F-35 Joint Striker engine that neither the Pentagon nor the White House wants.

There is so much manure in this legislation it is painful to see it unfolded. When DADT was initially passed, it was, in hopes, to protect the freedoms of American citizens who wished to serve in the military.

Due to the homophobic right wing, the bill became a threat to the hard-working soldiers who happened to be gay. Now we are repealing the only thing protecting them, unless you count the “superior craftsmanship” of the armor we have given them.

It is somehow understandable to recognize the delusion that people like me would taint marriage in some way – for those who practice the Christian myths; but denying soldiers during a war is an insane notion.

What lesbian would be unable to fight for her country because she is a lesbian? Personally, it would seem that a lesbian might be the ideal candidate in the first place.

Honestly, it is difficult to digest the fact that Americans are still fighting for civil liberty in a country based on equal rights. It was difficult to digest that during the Civil Rights Movement, but this is 2010. The space odyssey should have already happened, right?

Yet somehow, we have a Democrat in the White House, and a Democrat-controlled Congress, and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is being repealed to favor the narrow-minded, conservative agenda.

Meanwhile, FOX News and the extremist bible beaters are complaining about the legislation creating a safe haven for the faggots. In what world is this legislation helpful for LGBT individuals?

Our Congress needs to make good on the promises that it made in 2008. We, as a country, elected a Democratic-controlled government to fix the problems left by the W cronies. Now we are making it nearly impossible for LGBT individuals to serve their country in the military.

Understandably, this legislation – like all of the others passed since 2008 – has been a compromise. Unfortunately, we are compromising everything that truly matters.

– Dustin Evans is a senior organizational communication major at Middle Tennessee State U.