"Senate Votes to end Military ban on Gays"

Obama's campaign promise to repeal the "don't ask don't tell" policy of 17 years will shortly come into effect. Last Wednesday, the House passed the bill 250-175, and Saturday the Senate passed the same bill 65-31. Obama is expected to sign the bill sometime this week. The change will not be instantaneous though, Obama and the top military advisers must prove that the troops' fighting ability will not be harmed by lifting the ban, then there will be a 60-day waiting period. This is a very significant step for our country. Passing this bill will mean that "for the first time in American history, gays will be openly accepted by the military and could acknowledge their sexual orientation without fear of being kicked out."  
Personally, I think this is great. I never really understood why troops were/are not allowed to say if they are gay or not, I don't see how it really changes anything. They are still there for the same reason; they want to fight for our country. It should make no difference whether they are gay or not. I guess now the only problem I can see arising is that some will make fun of those who are gay, which is really childish, but even as adults, I know it still happens. Even if they get made fun of though, it's nice to know that even if a person is gay, they don't have to lie about it in fear that they will get kicked out which is great, they have the exact same rights to be there as any other person does. I think it is kinda stupid that Obama and his top military officials have to "certify that lifting the ban won't hurt troops' fighting ability." It goes back to one of my beginning sentences; I don't understand how saying that you are gay is going to change anything. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about gays myself, but I do think that they have the right to live their life the way that they want to, just like the rest of us. I guess I would say that I'm on the same page as many Americans are; I'm coming to terms with accepting them. All in all, I'm glad to see that the "don't ask don't tell" policy will shortly just be a part of our past.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40715888/ns/politics-capitol_hill/