As a lesbian, I applaud Congress’s recent historic votes to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the 17-year-old policy that prohibits openly gay men and lesbians to serve in the military.

On May 27, the House of Representatives voted 234-194 to overturn this policy. That same day, the Senate Armed Services Committee, by a vote of 16-12, moved the bill to the full Senate, which will take it up in the next few weeks.

These historic votes are only a first step toward removing this unjust policy that requires gay and lesbian service members to keep their sexual orientation hidden.

The repeal won’t take effect until 60 days after the Pentagon delivers a report on Dec. 1 on how integrating openly gay men and lesbians would impact our armed forces.

Then, President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs head Adm. Mike Mullen would have to certify that repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” wouldn’t harm the military.

Though it’s just a beginning, Congress’s legislative action is a major victory for gay and lesbian rights.

Since its inception in 1993, the policy has led to the cruel dismissal of more than 13,000 gay and lesbian service members not because they were bad soldiers but because they chose to be forthright about who they were.

Mullen put it best when, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this year, he said: “I cannot escape being troubled that we have … a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.”

Those who oppose repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” argue that gay men and lesbians have an agenda — that we want special rights. But, gay, lesbian and bisexual service members don’t want special rights. They just want the right to serve their country without having to lie about who they are.

In 1993, when “don’t ask, don’t tell” was implemented, only 44 percent of Americans supported gay men and lesbians serving openly in the armed forces. Today, 75 percent of Americans support repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” according to a 2008 ABC News/Washington Post poll.

In 1948, our armed forces were able to achieve racial integration, before there was widespread public support for racial equality.

Now, when there’s widespread public support for repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” I hope Obama, Congress and the Pentagon will work together to lift this unjust ban.

If soldiers are willing to sacrifice their lives for us, the least we can do is permit them to be open about who they are.

Kathi Wolfe is a writer and poet. She can be reached at pmproj [at] progressive [dot] org.