Equality under the Law

Yesterday the United States Congress made history by finally beginning the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) -- a policy that has allowed highly competent soldiers who happened to be homosexuals to be discharged from the United States military.

I cannot think of a better decision that the Congress could have made as we enter this Memorial Day weekend, in which we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and who have died in service to our country. Many of those courageous servicemen and women were from populations who have had to hide who they were and fight ridiculous prejudices all their lives, right here at home among their own people, despite the Constitutional protections that they gave their lives for.

Our broad and deep diversity in race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political philosophy, and values is our strength as a nation. It should be celebrated, not discriminated against. DADT should be abolished, and will be finally by the end of 2010.

Some have likened this experiment in institutionalized discrimination to the period of U.S. history after the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court ruling around the turn of the twentieth century that allowed blacks and whites to be kept "separate but equal," when everyone knew clearly that separate has never been equal. As a historian by profession, I can see the analogy. It took five decades before Brown v. Board of Education finally recognized that segregation is never acceptable as a way of life in our democracy.

We are a nation founded on the most well-articulated freedoms in history. At the time it was passed, our Constitution set unique precedents in civil liberties and equality before the law. Of course, we have had to grow in our understanding of what those freedoms and protections have meant. After all, as great as our founding documents were, even they recognized slaves as only counting as 3/5 of a person. We know better now. We do not discriminate against someone just because of who they are born to be.

It is quite bizarre to hear some extremists say that we can't have gays serving in the military. Homosexuals have served nobly and well alongside soldiers in every single generation and in every single military conflict in our nation's history. Some of our most decorated and heroic servicemen and women have been homosexual. To reject them or to reject anyone with skills that we need from the military is entirely unjust, immoral, and a rejection of this nation's highest values. It is also incredibly dangerous to national security and very bad policy to lose any talented and dedicated soldier at this time of two major wars and many other global crises. Our military is stretched to the limit, and we need every capable and willing recruit and soldier.

We are far behind many other nations that have long ago dismissed this ridiculous barrier and that have shown clearly that there is no problem with homosexuals serving openly in the military.

Common sense and basic decency require that we fully embrace this first great civil rights challenge of the twenty-first century. The nineteenth century saw constant struggle and even an enormous Civil War over the questions of slavery and equality of citizenship for African Americans. The twentieth century was a long hard march towards equal treatment for women, as well as the historic realization and commitment to full civil liberties for all people of color. Too many people have suffered and died in these historic struggles.

You would think that by now we would have learned -- that this would be a "no-brainer." History will judge us as we now tackle in the twenty-first century one of the last vestiges of ridiculous prejudice and finally remove all legal barriers that prevent gays and lesbians from fully participating as equal partners in our society.

This is a local issue as well. Cook County is a diverse and populous region. It goes without saying that the LGBT community makes significant contributions every day to the well-being, economic vitality, and strength of our neighborhoods. Yet marriage equality, family health care, other economic and civil rights, housing issues, and other challenges still sit before us in local government.

It is in our economic best interests to address this issue. The 2006 Gay Games alone pumped upwards of $80 million dollars into the Cook County economy, with many millions more assured over the next decade as an aftereffect of the Games. The incumbent Commisioner I am running against voted against this wonderful event.

Discrimination against people for something as innocuous as skin color, religion, or natural sexual preference is morally wrong, economically damaging, damaging to our national security, a violation of our Constitutional founding principles, and very bad public policy. Diverse societies that have learned to work and live well together in a spirit of mutual respect for each other's rights and freedoms are the strongest on earth.

Fear, hatred, and extremism from certain groups and the far-right wing on this issue have been distasteful to watch, as well as harmful to the economic health and vitality of our communities.

The Cook County Board makes decisions regularly relating to institutional discrimination. To my mind, few matters reveal more about the values, courage, personalities, leadership, and abilities of the individual commissioners than how they vote on matters of protecting fundamental freedom and equality of rights.

My vote will always be for full human rights, civil liberties, and complete equality under the law for all citizens.