Don't Ask, Don't Tell is Collapsing

A federal judge has just ruled that the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is unconstitutional. The underlying logic is the same as this summer's ruling on gay marriage in California: the judge held that the government failed to show a good reason why the policy was needed. Under our constitution you can't limit people's rights without showing some reason why the restriction is "reasonably necessary." "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" infringes people's right to say certain things, and since our right to free speech is protected, the government must have a good reason to do that. More and more, Americans just don't see what reason there is to discriminate against gays.

It is amazing to think how far we have come on this issue in 30 years. Thirty years ago it would have been a strange and radical thing to assert that discrimination against gays was pointless. Now it is the majority view in America, and it is becoming standard thinking even among Republican judges.