When it comes to the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, I’ve always thought it was the overly conservative who were supportive of its existence. I was wrong.

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According to a recent poll released by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 27 percent of Americans are supportive of the policy. You’ve got to be living under a rock not to know what “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is, but just in case you don’t, it’s a military policy that disallows openly gay or lesbian soldiers to serve. The military won’t ask, and it advises homosexuals not to tell.

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I can’t believe that even 27 percent of people are supportive of this policy. That’s just too many, in my opinion. It just seems blatantly prejudicial.

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We’ve got laws for civil rights, for women’s rights, for religious tolerance. What’s so different about homosexuals? Why was this policy allowed to begin with?

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If a person wants to serve in the military and they’ve got an able body, why not let them? If the only reason not to let a person serve his or her country is that they’re gay, what the hell kind of people does that make us?

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I mean, I think there are better ways to solve conflicts than war, but if a healthy person wants to join the military to protect the rest of us, effing let them. Seriously.

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I’m sitting here writing this column, and I’m trying to play the devil’s advocate rule to come up with some sort of argument for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” I’m a pretty damn open-minded person, but there are only two arguments I can come up with, and they’re both weak.

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The overly religious may say homosexuality is denounced in the Bible, so these people may think we shouldn’t allow them to serve. There’s just one thing, though: This country is founded on a separation between church and state. Religion should never play a part in the construction of policies and laws.

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The only other argument I can come up with is that homophobic people may believe homosexual men shouldn’t be placed with straight men. Why? Because homophobes seem to think that gays and lesbians can’t control their sexual urges. If that’s the case, straight men and women shouldn’t be placed with each other overseas either. After all, we’re all human. Sexuality has nothing to do with being able to control oneself.

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If that remaining 27 percent of people who support the policy fall under those two arguments, they’re incredibly close-minded and, frankly, quite sad. If there are any other arguments out there, I’d love to hear them.

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Because for me, there’s no real reason to disallow a healthy gay man or lesbian woman to serve if they so choose. We’re all human. Let’s start acting like it.

Nick Glunt is a senior magazine journalism major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].