Flaunting his heterosexuality

Ben Lowson, a self-identified military commander, writes to the Washington Post:

The principle of this policy is a good one. In 12 years of service as an active-duty U.S. Army officer, I have not once found that an individual's sexual orientation had any role in military operations.

Law or no law, standards of professional conduct demand that military personnel avoid asking about, talking about or flaunting sexual orientation. Our attention belongs solely on our mission to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, not on our individual differences.

This in no way denies the fact that we are unique individuals with diverse backgrounds, interests, and, yes, sexual orientations. But it is for the greater good of our country and our world that we unite and put these differences aside. So let's keep "don't ask, don't tell" but apply it equally to all service members as a common-sense standard of conduct.

I wonder if Lowson is married. I wonder if he wears his wedding ring or mentions his wife and kids. Such flaunting of his heterosexuality!

Seriously, it's amazing to me how often it's "flaunting" when a gay person says they're gay, but just normal when a straight person makes reference to his "regular life". Try going through a whole week at work without ever once mentioning your family (no "we went to the movies", no "my wife told me about...", no "my kid wants to go to Hopkins" - none of it). That's just as much " talking about or flaunting sexual orientation" as whatever it is Lowson thinks his gay soldiers are going to talk about...

Remember the old "It's not a style, just a life"? Yeah.