Former Marine Jim Key: “Many of the same people who commended me for my service … publicly refused to serve with LGBT people.”

Today brought an official end, at last, to the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy that did not allow gay and lesbian military personnel to be open about their sexuality while serving their country.

My good friend, Jim Key, was one of those people. He’s been the Chief Public Affairs Officer for the LA Gay and Lesbian Center for several years now and earlier today, he shared his story at a news conference held in conjunction with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

Here’s what he said:

In the 18 years since our government told servicemembers that if they came out, they’d be kicked out, more than 13,000 people have been discharged from the military simply because they’re gay or lesbian.   Think about that.  While we’ve been engaged in multiple wars, the U.S. has rejected the service of thousands of specially trained and qualified people—like those you see here—who are willing to fight and die for our country.

But today, thousands of our nation’s servicemembers can finally fight for their country without also having to fight for the right to serve.

Today, thousands of U.S. Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen can bravely serve their country without fear they’ll be prosecuted like criminals if their sexual orientation is discovered.

Today, the U.S. sends a message to our servicemembers that we really are the land of the free and the brave.  And that day has been a long time coming.

We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Servicemembers United, Outserve, Lambda Legal, Log Cabin Republicans and to all the organizations and courageous current and former members of the military who worked so hard for this day.

We’re also grateful for the leadership of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, to Secretaries of Defense Robert Gates and Leon Panetta, to the members of Congress who championed the repeal and, of course, to our president.

But our work is not over.  Though gay men and lesbians can now serve openly and side-by-side non-gay servicemembers, they’re still second-class citizens.  Married couples in the military enjoy a large number of benefits that are denied to married couples of the same-sex.  And, of course, transgender people are still prohibited form joining the military.  We must continue the fight until we have full equality for all LGBT people.

While I hid my sexual orientation in the Marine Corps, many of the same people who commended me for my service were ironically the same people who publicly refused to serve with LGBT people.  I listened to them complain that gay guys would be too afraid to pull a trigger because they might break a nail, or that gay guys would show up to formation in drag rather than their uniform.  At worst, I feared that if I let my guard down and my secret was exposed, someone might try to hurt me physically.  At best, I was convinced I’d be ostracized.

That type of fear and anguish, combined with ignorance about the truth of gay and lesbian servicemembers, is what’s dangerous to unit cohesion.  That’s why allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly is good for the military and good for our country.

Once more soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are able to be truthful and honest about their sexual orientation, many of those who were against the repeal will be surprised to realize they’ve been serving with lesbians and gay men all along.  Coming out remains our number one weapon against homophobia and finally, servicemembers who do no longer have to fear they’ll lose their job.

For more extensive coverage of the end of DADT, see my friend Karen Ocamb’s report at the FrontiersInLA website.