Just got another email from Jim Pietrangelo. Pentagon recruiters are still turning him away because he's gay, which is in direct violation of a federal court decision that the Pentagon said it would abide by.
Not to beat a dead horse, but you should know that there is a disconnect between the Pentagon's late-breaking announcement that it will start accepting Gays into the Military and the reality on the ground. Fifteen minutes ago (4:45 p.m. EST), I called the Los Angeles Central Army Recruiting station back--one of the stations I had previously been rejected by because I am Gay--and they in no uncertain terms stated that they cannot enlist Gays and have received no change in policy from the Pentagon to do so.
Indeed, the recruiter astonishingly told me I couldn't even begin the application process because I am Gay, much less could I be actually accessed.
I think at best what the Pentagon is doing is pretending that they are not enforcing DADT by saying Gays can fill out the paperwork, but not letting them actually join once the paperwork is finished. It's like when Dan Choi tried to reenlist in Times Square right after the Injunction was issued in October 2010. His recruiters let him fill out the paperwork, but held it until the stay happened, and then they threw the paperwork in the circular file. Starting today, the Pentagon is going to hold up the paperwork on Gay applicants--if they let them fill the paperwork out in the first place--and sit on their paperwork until the Obama Administration decides to certify repeal.
