Frontlines: The Latest from OutServe-SLDN

A Missouri Perspective

I'd always imagined seeing DC for the first time with my partner. Unfortunately, she couldn't make the trip with me. But I still was determined not to miss SLDN's Freedom to Serve rally or the opportunity to visit my home state Senators, Claire McCaskill and Kit Bond. I know NOW is the time to get involved if we really want to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

So I flew to DC from Kansas City. At the rally, Colonel Grethe Cammermeyer said, "If I am uncomfortable, it is where I need to be." Her words rang so true: I need to be talking to those who may not agree with me or who may not understand why "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" needs to be repealed - these are the people we need to focus on, not just those who already agree.

The meeting with Senator McCaskill went pretty well, and the meeting with Senator Bond's staffer was unexpectedly encouraging. He was in the Army (as I was) and served two tours in Iraq in the infantry. He said that when you're under fire, you don't care about whether the person next to you is gay. All you care about is whether that person is doing his or her job. I hope he shares that with Senator Bond, and I hope next time, I can tell the Senator himself about my own experience in Desert Storm. Even though it might be a little uncomfortable talking to people whom you assume will not agree with you or whom you think already know about the detriments of DADT, as Col. Cammermeyer said, that's exactly where we need to be.

03-19-09 By Shonda Garrison, Holts Summit, MO |