At a time when the military is fighting two wars simultaneously and recruiting standards are being lowered, why is Congress still not allowing gay military personnel to serve openly?

The military can ill afford to lose a single man or woman. Nonetheless, the law -- a law passed by Congress -- requires that if that man or woman is openly gay, he or she must be discharged.

Sometimes the law leads and sometimes it follows. In California the law is leading the way to insure basic civil rights for all, including couples of the same sex.

A small group of Americans, both gay and straight, are fighting and dying in this war, and they are feeling its consequences. The rest of us are changing the channel.