Last month the Defense Authorization Act of 2010 was passed by the House. One of its provisions called for the repeal of the ban on gays’ right to serve their country, the so-called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” rule enacted by President Clinton in 1993.

If it were a child, DADT would be almost old enough to vote, old enough to drive, probably thinking about going to college and would be able to enlist in the military (with its parents’ permission). Provided, of course, that it wasn’t gay.

Though the bill passed the House on a nearly party-line vote of 234-194 (26 Democrats and 5 Republicans voted against their parties), its success is far from certain. Before it reaches the president’s desk the Defense Authorization Act must make it through the gauntlet of the Senate, which has thus far proven itself to be more resistant to progress than the lower house. Given its recent history of needless obstructionism, we can probably expect the Senate to stonewall this issue as well.

Time for a little personal background. I’m an Air Force veteran, happily retired after 21 years of service. I joined during the Reagan years, which most of today’s students have only read about in history books or seen eulogized on Fox News.

At the time, there were several questions on the enlistment documents relating to my political status and membership in or association with various seditious or subversive political movements, among them the Communist and Anarchist parties. I was also asked about my sexual orientation.

The interesting thing about all these questions wasn’t the fact that they were on the form. I could understand the national security concerns about membership in the Communist Party; after all, you wouldn’t want to give obvious subversives access to high-tech weapon systems. What was interesting was that while being a Commie was a forgivable sin – all you had to do was swear to renounce your membership – being gay wasn’t.

You could be a straight socialist and get in, but a gay Republican had the doors slammed shut forever. My friends and I had a few laughs about that, I can tell you. Apparently gays couldn’t be patriots.

Now, it’s not as though the military isn’t thoroughly multicultural. During my 21 years, I had the honor of serving alongside good men and women from all walks of life. I served with African-Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, Christians, Jews and Muslims, and later on, Wiccans. Statistically speaking, I’m sure many of them were gay.

In fact, I know some were. In the years since “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was made official policy, over 13,500 servicemen and -women have been dismissed for openly expressing their sexuality.

I saw several hard-working and dedicated men and women kicked out of the military for no reason other than sexuality

Republicans are always saying that allowing gays to serve openly will cause “dissension within the ranks” and damage “unit cohesion”. Based on my experience, I can say definitively that nothing is more damaging do unit cohesion than a witch hunt.

Senator and former Presidential candidate John McCain (R-AZ) is on the record saying that while the policy hasn’t been perfect, it has been “effective.”

I suppose it has – 59 Arabic linguists have been discharged under DADT since the policy was enacted in 1993. Lord knows, we don’t need people like that today in our armed forces.

Nor has the problem been confined to highly specialized fields. One of the most recent poster boys for the repeal of DADT is Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, a highly decorated veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. He was discharged under DADT after 18 years of distinguished, honorable service to his country.

The policy has been effective, all right. It’s been very effective in needlessly degrading our ability to fight the War on Terror. It’s been very effective in removing from active duty brave, loyal and dedicated airmen and soldiers. It’s been very effective as a national embarrassment and international disgrace.

Proponents of the policy insist that repealing it now, when our country is at war, will limit or degrade our ability to fight and win. I say keeping it in place has already achieved that goal. These are the same arguments put forth in 1948 when Harry Truman integrated the armed forces. At the time, segregation was still the law of the land in much of America, and the idea of a racially mixed army was unthinkable to many Caucasians. They were wrong then, and they’re wrong now.

With only a few exceptions, our allies have all lifted their own bans on accepting gay people in military service. All have reported that their own integration experiences have been successful. We remain one of the few countries that steadfastly refuses to jump this hurdle. This places America in the company of such bastions of freedom and democracy as North Korea.

This is a distinction we should not aspire to. It’s high time we repealed this unjust and unjustifiable policy, and allow every able-bodied citizen the right to serve. They are certainly no less capable.

In 21 years, I have heard many arguments why gays and lesbians shouldn’t be allowed to serve. I have yet to hear a single rational argument why the force is better off without people like Lt. Col. Fehrenbach or the 89 Arabic linguists kicked out under DADT.

Perhaps it’s because there isn’t one.