Last Thursday’s Republican debate got heated when a few members of the crowd booed an openly gay soldier, Stephen Hill, when he asked whether he would have to hide his sexuality under a future, Republican administration.

For those who booed a soldier, shame on you. Did you forget that he was a soldier fighting in Iraq, or does it not count because of his sexual orientation?

That being said, Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) who answered the question said that he would reinstate “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” When pressed on the matter, he added that the repeal of the policy was harmful to those gay soldiers as well.

“We executed a policy that I think was detrimental to everyone, including them, in my opinion because sex and sexual preference should not be an issue in the military, period,” he said. “And it should not be something that is demonstrated in any shape or form in the military. And it shows how much our culture has changed that this is even a subject to be debated within the military.”

We all know that it is a long upheld tradition in the Army to boot out any soldier who admits to having relations with any of the local girls where they are stationed, right? No soldiers ever discuss their sexual past or present with other soldiers because sex and sexual preference have no place in the military.

If sex and sexual preference shouldn’t be an issue in the military, then why would “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” need to be re-instated? Isn’t that making sexual preference an issue in the military?

Santorum never elaborated on why allowing open service was detrimental for gay soldiers, but he later clarified that no gay soldiers would be in danger of losing their positions.

“I’d grandfather in people who, because of the policy, you know, came out,” Santorum said in an interview after the debate. “It’s not their fault.”

The above editorial is a consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.