It’s been a year since “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was repealed and not much has changed. The Washington Times reports via the Pentagon that the repeal has “no adverse effect on morale, unit cohesion, recruitment or military readiness.”
When the Senate struck down “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2010, Senator John McCain said that it was a “sad day in history,” that gays in the military would “harm the battle effectiveness vital to the survival of our young men and women,” according to the New York Times.
But despite what activists have said about repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” it has created “far more joy and relief than dismay and indignation,” says the same Washington Times article.
Current opponents of gay marriage argue their case with equally impassioned rhetoric. They’ve argued that gay marriage will lead down a slippery slope of “man on dog” sex, with humans lining up at the courthouse to wed their beloved animals. But just as proponents of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” forewarned of decreased morale or improper fraternization behind enemy lines, these gay marriage fears ring hollow.
We’d never lived in an America without “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” In the year since its repeal, the dark portends of skeptics who didn’t believe all military men and women were equal, regardless of sexual orientation, have been dispelled.
So what would happen a year after the legalization of same-sex marriages?
Anti-gay sentiments would persist for a while, as social conservatives and religious groups with cruel signs rally outside gay weddings.
The struggle to find a venue, bridal shop or registry, however, would probably lessen for many same sex couples. Some people in the wedding business would dissent, continuing to staunchly refuse the idea that all can marry. But not many can logically shy away from cutting off a piece of the billion-dollar wedding industry pie.
More weddings mean more money, all of which would go back into the economy. American capitalism would gain from what many consider the key to the destruction of the American family unit.
Divorce rates will still be high, ending nearly half of all marriages. Couples will still have to work hard at their relationships, learning to adapt to new communication styles and compromising when compromise seems impossible. Wives are still going to bed angry, and husbands are still sleeping on the couch until their spouses sheepishly coddle them into bed.
Unfaithfulness still plagues relationships and those in relationships still struggle to resist temptation, but those in love are still willing to forgive and forget.
Children still don’t come with a manual, but more orphaned children have homes. More couples, homosexual or heterosexual, are thinking about adoption as a choice. People still fear what they don’t understand, and unconventional families are subject to the same disapproving gaze on the street. Parents still struggle to understand their tormented teenagers better and teenagers are still sneaking out in the middle of the night.
Parents still find themselves challenged when their children ask confrontational questions, like where babies come from and why someone has two dads or two moms. But society’s perceptions of “normal” will slowly, but surely, be more encompassing and accepting of people, no matter their sexual preference.
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