VELSHI: Time now for "The XYZ of It." On Tuesday, a federal judge told the U.S. military to stop enforcing its "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which bars gays from serving openly in the military. Now the Justice Department is pushing to keep the judge's order from going into effect, even though the Obama administration has come out against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Plus, the military's now telling troops not to alter their behavior in any way. Look, the administration still opposes the policy but wants it changed through an act of Congress. Justice delayed is not necessarily justice denied in this case, but it is justice delayed. It's time to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" now. This unjust policy has gone on far too long in America. Countries around the world allow gay troops to serve openly and just because a policy has been deemed constitutional in the past doesn't actually mean it's good policy and it certainly doesn't mean it's right. Imagine if "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was in effect in your workplace. It would be illegal. What kind of an environment would that be and what kind of precedent would it set? Would any organization -- and they can't legally -- tell it's employees to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" about ethnicity? About religion? About political leaning? Gay men and women have served, fought and died for this country since it was founded. They have a right to serve, they have a right to fight and at the very least, let's give them the right to be who they are. That's my "XYZ." NEWSROOM continues now with my good friend, Don Lemon.
XYZ: Serving Proudly, Serving Openly