Whatever one thinks of or however one grades the US President's State of the Union Address on Wednesday night, credit goes to the man for his ballsy plain speaking about ending the military policy of Don't Ask; Don't Tell. (At Right: Israeli gay soldiers are allowed to march in the Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade.)

As soon as the words floated over their heads, a section of military officers wearing hundreds of metals and ribbons sat on their hands and made moues of disapproval. There was polite applause from congressmen who supported the end of the 17 year old ban of gay people willing to give up their lives for their country. How well has DADT worked? Since its birth, 12,600 US gay Military men and woman have been discharged from service.

When will DADT end? When will tens of thousands of USA gay people be allowed to serve in uniform? The president gives us hope, but with Washington bogged down in political scrapping, it could be another twenty years.