President Barack Obama has appointed the first openly gay individual to the United States Military Academy Board of Visitors, an act that underlines the imminent dissolution of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy banning gays and lesbians from open military service.
The historic appointment of Army veteran Brenda S. “Sue” Fulton to the West Point board, announced Tuesday, marks the end of a long-standing anti-gay bias that has plagued the U.S. armed forces for 17 years.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the 52-year-old West Point alumna became an outspoken advocate for LGBT rights shortly after President Obama was elected to office, and has since pioneered such pro-gay military organizations as Knights Out and OutServe, both of which aim to end military discrimination against gay and lesbian service members.
Fulton told the press that she hopes her appointment will send a message of hope to the gay community and communicate that the anti-gay military bias “is a thing of the past.” She explained, “I would hope that it would tell [the gay community] that if you’re willing to serve your country and you’re qualified, other factors don’t matter.”
Despite the promise shown by Fulton’s appointment, the DADT repeal is still pending a rigorous certification process. However, Fulton echoed statements made by government officials when she stated that, thus far, there are no serious issues preventing the DADT repeal from taking effect later this year.
