Great article from the Colorado Independent about the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" military policy for LGBT people in the military:

Air Force ROTC cadet Mara Boyd pledged to uphold the principles of integrity, service before self, and excellence. But trying to adhere to those values not only unraveled a promising military career, it saddled Boyd with more than $30,000 in debt.

Boyd’s saga began in 2001, eight years after President Clinton signed into law the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which bans openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people from serving in the U.S. military.

After an estimated 12,500 service members and ROTC cadets, like Boyd, were dismissed since 1993, Congress is trying again to reverse “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

The Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009 was introduced on March 3 by U.S. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., after the Obama administration signaled its support. Among the Colorado delegation, Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, and Jared Polis, D-Boulder, have signed on as House co-sponsors. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., is expected to carry the bill in the Senate. The San Francisco Chronicle reported last week that opposition to Tauscher’s bill is mounting in the House and Senate Armed Services committees where Reps. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, and Sen. Mark Udall will hold key votes.

While repealing the 16-year-old ban may bring a moral victory of sorts for gay and lesbian service members and their straight allies, the damage done to personal lives and the estimated $363.8 million cost of implementing “don’t ask, don’t tell” to replace military personnel discharged because of the ban, are often forgotten in the now-discredited hue and cry over unit cohesion.

Boyd’s experience in the University of Colorado at Boulder’s ROTC program provides an example of how Clinton’s political naivety and good intentions ran afoul of common sense.

After joining the collegiate officer training program in her sophomore year, she completed summer basic training camp at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Graduating in the top 10 percent of her class, Boyd returned to her childhood home in Ann Arbor, Mich. The plan was to kick back for a few weeks and then resume her military scholarship in the fall.

But things got complicated.

Read the full article from the Colorado Independent.