The Government Moves Fast

When it wishes to, that is. It looks as if Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Knight is going to be discharged again. In what appears to be a retaliatory move for speaking out about being gay and being recalled to service in the US Navy the US Navy has announced that they are now going to "fire" him for being gay.

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Navy has informed Petty Officer Second Class Jason Knight that it intends to fire him under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law just weeks prior to completing his one-year commitment. Knight, an openly gay sailor, was recalled to active duty in June 2006 and recently completed a tour of duty in Kuwait, where he was open about his sexual orientation with his command and fellow sailors. Knight told his story last weekend in the newspaper Stars & Stripes and was notified yesterday that he will be receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy based, in part, on his recent media interviews. Knight was scheduled to end his commitment on May 28, 2007, but will face early dismissal because he chose to go public about his experience.

This is a sad commentary on the US military and their stance towards gay and lesbian Americans, but shows without doubt the ability of the military to move quickly when they're being shown up. If FEMA had been able to respond even a fraction as quickly as the Pentagon did in this case, the the government response to the devastation of the Gulf Coast would be a distant memory by now.

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Libertarian, Iraq, Gay Rights