The Pentagon’s decision, announced this afternoon, that it is now permitting openly gay men and women to enlist is just the first bump in what could be a long road. The second bump could be — as the Pentagon is already warning — that their service is no longer needed.
That could happen in the days to come if a higher court rules that federal judge Virginia Phillips erred when she unilaterally declared “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” unconstitutional and ordered the military to stop enforcing it. Gay-advocacy groups are telling gays to sign up, but refrain from broadcasting their sexual orientation. Seems like a tweaked version of that old World War II poster still applies: Loose Lips Might Sink Careers.