When the army issued revised mobilization regulations in 1942, it distinguished "homosexual" recruits from "normal" recruits for the first time.
In 1944, a new policy directive decreed that homosexuals were to be committed to military hospitals, examined by psychiatrists and discharged under Regulation 615–360, section 8. In 1947, blue discharges were discontinued and two new classifications were created: "general" and "undesirable".
In 1944, a new policy directive decreed that homosexuals were to be committed to military hospitals, examined by psychiatrists and discharged under Regulation 615–360, section 8. In 1947, blue discharges were discontinued and two new classifications were created: "general" and "undesirable".
The Uniform Code of Military Justice, passed by Congress in 1950 and signed by President Harry S Truman, established the policies and procedures for discharging service members. The full name of the policy at the time was "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue".
Leonard Matlovich appeared on the cover of Time in 1975.
Navy study known as the Crittenden Report dismissed the charge that homosexuals constitute a security risk, but advocated stringent anti-homosexual policies because "Homosexuality is wrong, it is evil, and it is to be branded as such." It remained secret until 1976.
In 1982 the Department of Defense issued a policy stating that, "Homosexuality is incompatible with military service." It cited the military's need "to maintain discipline, good order, and morale" and "to prevent breaches of security".
Congress included text in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (passed in 1993) requiring the military to abide by regulations essentially identical to the 1982 absolute ban policy.
In 1988, in response to a campaign against lesbians at the Marines' Parris Island Depot, activists launched the Gay and Lesbian Military Freedom Project (MFP) to advocate for an end to the exclusion of gays and lesbians from the armed forces.
In 1989, reports commissioned by the Personnel Security Research and Education Center (PERSEREC), an arm of the Pentagon, were discovered in the process of Joseph Steffan's lawsuit fighting his forced resignation from the U.S.
The MFP began lobbying Congress in 1990, and in 1991 Senator Brock Adams (D-Washington) and Rep.
The MFP began lobbying Congress in 1990, and in 1991 Senator Brock Adams (D-Washington) and Rep.
In July 1991, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, in the context of the outing of his press aide Pete Williams, dismissed the idea that gays posed a security risk as "a bit of an old chestnut" in testimony before the House Budget Committee.
In June 1992, the General Accounting Office released a report that members of Congress had requested two years earlier estimating the costs associated with the ban on gays and lesbians in the military at $27 million annually. During the 1992 U.S.
on October 27, 1992, brought calls from advocates of allowing open service by gays and lesbians for prompt action from the incoming Clinton administration. ==Origin== The policy was introduced as a compromise measure in 1993 by President Bill Clinton who campaigned in 1992 on the promise to allow all citizens to serve in the military regardless of sexual orientation.
The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December 21, 1993, and was in effect from February 28, 1994, until September 20, 2011.
This relaxation of legal restrictions on service by gays and lesbians in the armed forces was mandated by United States federal law (), which was signed November 30, 1993.
on October 27, 1992, brought calls from advocates of allowing open service by gays and lesbians for prompt action from the incoming Clinton administration. ==Origin== The policy was introduced as a compromise measure in 1993 by President Bill Clinton who campaigned in 1992 on the promise to allow all citizens to serve in the military regardless of sexual orientation.
Commander Craig Quigley, a Navy spokesman, expressed the opposition of many in the military at the time when he said, "Homosexuals are notoriously promiscuous" and that in shared shower situations, heterosexuals would have an "uncomfortable feeling of someone watching". During the 1993 policy debate, the National Defense Research Institute prepared a study for the Office of the Secretary of Defense published as Sexual Orientation and U.S.
On May 5, 1993, Gregory M.
In a June 1993 Washington Post opinion piece, Goldwater wrote: "You don't have to be straight to shoot straight". Congress rushed to enact the existing gay ban policy into federal law, outflanking Clinton's planned repeal effort.
Congress included text in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (passed in 1993) requiring the military to abide by regulations essentially identical to the 1982 absolute ban policy.
The Clinton Administration on December 21, 1993, issued Defense Directive 1304.26, which directed that military applicants were not to be asked about their sexual orientation.
The phrase was coined by Charles Moskos, a military sociologist. In accordance with the December 21, 1993, Department of Defense Directive 1332.14, it was legal policy (10 U.S.C.
It ensured that the military would not allow harassment or violence against service members for any reason. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network was founded in 1993 to advocate an end to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the U.S.
Other religious organizations and agencies called the repeal of the policy a "non-event" or "non-issue" for chaplains, claiming that chaplains have always supported military service personnel, whether or not they agree with all their actions or beliefs. ==Discharges under DADT== After the policy was introduced in 1993, the military discharged over 13,000 troops from the military under DADT.
The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December 21, 1993, and was in effect from February 28, 1994, until September 20, 2011.
Congress included text in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (passed in 1993) requiring the military to abide by regulations essentially identical to the 1982 absolute ban policy.
It reported at least $95.4 million in recruiting costs and at least $95.1 million for training replacements for the 9,488 troops discharged from 1994 through 2003, while noting that the true figures might be higher.
Martin's Press, 2000) David Mixner, Stranger Among Friends (NY: Bantam, 1996) ==Further reading== Belkin, Aaron (2013).
Cohen=== In January 1998, Senior Chief Petty Officer Timothy R.
Following the implementation of DADT's repeal, a panel of three judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Phillips ruling. ==Debate== Following the July 1999 murder of Army Pfc.
On December 7, 1999, Hillary Clinton told an audience of gay supporters that "Gays and lesbians already serve with distinction in our nation's armed forces and should not face discrimination.
When that review found anti-gay sentiments were widely expressed and tolerated in the military, the DOD adopted a new anti-harassment policy in July 2000, though its effectiveness was disputed.
armed forces aren't some social experiment." The principal candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2000, Al Gore and Bill Bradley, both endorsed military service by open gays and lesbians, provoking opposition from high-ranking retired military officers, notably the recently retired commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen.
The 2000 Democratic Party platform was silent on the issue, while the Republican Party platform that year said: "We affirm that homosexuality is incompatible with military service." Following the election of George W.
Bush in 2000, observers expected him to avoid any changes to DADT, since his nominee for Secretary of State Colin Powell had participated in its creation. In February 2004 members of the British Armed Forces, Lt Rolf Kurth and Lt Cdr Craig Jones along with Aaron Belkin, Director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military met with members of Congress and spoke at the National Defense University.
The UK lifted the gay ban on members serving in their forces in 2000. In July 2004, the American Psychological Association issued a statement that DADT "discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation" and that "Empirical evidence fails to show that sexual orientation is germane to any aspect of military effectiveness including unit cohesion, morale, recruitment and retention." It said that the U.S.
Martin's Press, 2000) David Mixner, Stranger Among Friends (NY: Bantam, 1996) ==Further reading== Belkin, Aaron (2013).
It reported at least $95.4 million in recruiting costs and at least $95.1 million for training replacements for the 9,488 troops discharged from 1994 through 2003, while noting that the true figures might be higher.
United States of America=== In 2010, a lawsuit filed in 2004 by the Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), the nation's largest Republican gay organization, went to trial.
Bush in 2000, observers expected him to avoid any changes to DADT, since his nominee for Secretary of State Colin Powell had participated in its creation. In February 2004 members of the British Armed Forces, Lt Rolf Kurth and Lt Cdr Craig Jones along with Aaron Belkin, Director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military met with members of Congress and spoke at the National Defense University.
The UK lifted the gay ban on members serving in their forces in 2000. In July 2004, the American Psychological Association issued a statement that DADT "discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation" and that "Empirical evidence fails to show that sexual orientation is germane to any aspect of military effectiveness including unit cohesion, morale, recruitment and retention." It said that the U.S.
It provided for the payment of full separation pay to service members discharged under DADT since November 10, 2004, who had previously been granted only half that. ==2012 presidential campaign issue== Several candidates for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination called for the restoration of DADT, including Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum.
The Republican Party platform that year reiterated its support for the policy—"We affirm traditional military culture, and we affirm that homosexuality is incompatible with military service."—while the Democratic Party maintained its silence. In February 2005, the Government Accountability Office released estimates of the cost of DADT.
Citing the ability of the armed forces to adjust to the previous integration of African-Americans and women, the DoD study asserted that the United States military could adjust as had it before in history without an impending serious effect. In March 2005, Rep.
"'Don't Ask, Don't Tell': Has the Policy Met Its Goals?", University of Dayton Law Review, Fall 2005 Huffman, J.
Department of the Air Force=== In April 2006, Margaret Witt, a major in the United States Air Force who was being investigated for homosexuality, filed suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington seeking declaratory and injunctive relief on the grounds that DADT violates substantive due process, the Equal Protection Clause, and procedural due process.
We should not be training people who are not eligible to be in the Armed Forces." In February 2006, a University of California Blue Ribbon Commission that included Lawrence Korb, a former assistant defense secretary during the Reagan administration, William Perry, Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration, and professors from the United States Military Academy released their assessment of the GAO's analysis of the cost of DADT released a year earlier.
They said that that total cost was closer to $363 million, including $14.3 million for "separation travel" following a service member's discharge, $17.8 million for training officers, $252.4 million for training enlistees, and $79.3 million in recruiting costs. In 2006, Soulforce, a national LGBT rights organization, organized its Right to Serve Campaign, in which gay men and lesbians in several cities attempted to enlist in the Armed Forces or National Guard.
are creating media events all over the country and even internationally." In 2006, a speaking tour of gay former service members, organized by SLDN, Log Cabin Republicans, and Meehan, visited 18 colleges and universities.
campaign" and said that "The law is there to protect good order and discipline in the military, and it's not going to change." In December 2006, Zogby International released the results of a poll of military personnel conducted in October 2006 that found that 26% favored allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, 37% were opposed, while 37% expressed no preference or were unsure.
As of 2006, it had 105 Democrats and 4 Republicans as co-sponsors.
In July 2007 the Secretary of the Air Force ordered her honorable discharge.
Regarding overall unit morale, 3% said positive impact, 64% no impact, and 27% negative impact. Retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Shalikashvili and former Senator and Secretary of Defense William Cohen opposed the policy in January 2007: "I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces" Shalikashvili wrote.
military." In November 2007, 28 retired generals and admirals urged Congress to repeal the policy, citing evidence that 65,000 gay men and women were serving in the armed forces and that there were over a million gay veterans.
He introduced the bill again in 2007 and 2009. During the 2008 U.S.
Dismissed by the district court, the case was heard on appeal, and the Ninth Circuit issued its ruling on May 21, 2008.
John Warner, who backed DADT, said "I respectfully, but strongly, disagree with the chairman's view that homosexuality is immoral", and Pace expressed regret for expressing his personal views and said that DADT "does not make a judgment about the morality of individual acts." Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, then in the early stages of his campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, defended DADT: That summer, after U.S.
On November 17, 2008, 104 retired generals and admirals signed a similar statement.
In December, SLDN arranged for 60 Minutes to interview Darren Manzella, an Army medic who served in Iraq after coming out to his unit. On May 4, 2008, while Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen addressed the graduating cadets at West Point, a cadet asked what would happen if the next administration were supportive of legislation allowing gays to serve openly.
He introduced the bill again in 2007 and 2009. During the 2008 U.S.
Texas (2003), determined that DADT had to be subjected to heightened scrutiny, meaning that there must be an "important" governmental interest at issue, that DADT must "significantly" further the governmental interest, and that there can be no less intrusive way for the government to advance that interest. The Obama administration declined to appeal, allowing a May 3, 2009, deadline to pass, leaving Witt as binding on the entire Ninth Circuit, and returning the case to the District Court.
He introduced the bill again in 2007 and 2009. During the 2008 U.S.
On the eve of the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., October 10, 2009, Obama stated in a speech before the Human Rights Campaign that he would end the ban, but he offered no timetable.
Discharges exceeded 600 every year until 2009. ==State-based gay and lesbian military veteran laws== In November 2019, both Rhode Island and New York State signed into law and implemented restoring military benefits to gay and lesbian military veterans.
On September 24, 2010, District Judge Ronald B.
United States of America=== In 2010, a lawsuit filed in 2004 by the Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), the nation's largest Republican gay organization, went to trial.
According to plaintiffs, these statements alone satisfied their burden of proof on the due process claims. On September 9, 2010, Judge Virginia A.
On October 12, 2010, she granted an immediate worldwide injunction prohibiting the Department of Defense from enforcing the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy and ordered the military to suspend and discontinue any investigation or discharge, separation, or other proceedings based on it.
Hypothetical questions were neither presented nor answered in reaching this decision. On October 19, 2010, military recruiters were told they could accept openly gay applicants.
On October 20, 2010, Lt.
Army. Following passage of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, the Justice Department asked the Ninth Circuit to suspend LCR's suit in light of the legislative repeal.
During Obama's State of the Union Address on January 27, 2010, he said that he would work with Congress and the military to enact a repeal of the gay ban law and for the first time set a timetable for repeal. At a February 2, 2010, congressional hearing, Senator John McCain read from a letter signed by "over one thousand former general and flag officers".
The average age of the officers whose names were listed as signing the letter was 74, the oldest was 98, and Servicemembers United noted that "only a small fraction of these officers have even served in the military during the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' period, much less in the 21st century military." The Center for American Progress issued a report in March 2010 that said a smooth implementation of an end to DADT required eight specified changes to the military's internal regulations.
On March 25, 2010, Defense Secretary Gates announced new rules mandating that only flag officers could initiate discharge proceedings and imposing more stringent rules of evidence on discharge proceedings. ==Repeal== The underlying justifications for DADT have been subjected to increasing suspicion and outright rejection by the early 21st century.
A DoD study conducted at the behest of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in 2010 supports this most. The DoD working group conducting the study considered the impact that lifting the ban would have on unit cohesion and effectiveness, good order and discipline, and military morale.
Nineteen days after his election, Obama's advisers announced that plans to repeal the policy might be delayed until 2010, because Obama "first wants to confer with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his new political appointees at the Pentagon to reach a consensus, and then present legislation to Congress".
On May 27, 2010, on a 234–194 vote, the U.S.
The amended defense bill passed the House on May 28, 2010.
On September 21, 2010, John McCain led a successful filibuster against the debate on the Defense Authorization Act, in which 56 Senators voted to end debate, four short of the 60 votes required.
United States, against the Department of Defense in November 2010 seeking full compensation for those discharged under the policy. On November 30, 2010, the Joint Chiefs of Staff released the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Comprehensive Review Working Group (CRWG) report authored by Jeh C.
The United States Senate held two days of hearings on December 2 and 3, 2010, to consider the CRWG report.
Obama's radical social experiment". On December 9, 2010, another filibuster prevented debate on the Defense Authorization Act.
It passed the House on a vote of 250 to 175 on December 15, 2010.
On December 18, 2010, the Senate voted to end debate on its version of the bill by a cloture vote of 63–33.
President Obama signed the repeal into law on December 22, 2010. ===Implementation of repeal=== The repeal act established a process for ending the DADT policy.
He said his earlier public opposition was appropriate based on ongoing combat operations and the negative assessment of the policy given by 56% of combat troops under his command in the Department of Defense's November 2010 survey.
The support also cut across partisan and ideological lines, with majorities of Democrats (86%), Republicans (74%), independents (74%), liberals (92%), conservatives (67%), white evangelical Protestants (70%) and non-religious (84%) in favor of homosexuals serving openly. A November 2010 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 58% of the U.S.
According to a November 2010 CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, 72% of adult Americans favored permitting people who are openly gay or lesbian to serve in the military, while 23% opposed it.
That happens occasionally on topics where moral issues and equal-treatment issues intersect." A February 2010 Quinnipiac University Polling Institute national poll showed 57% of American voters favored gays serving openly, compared to 36% opposed, while 66% said not allowing openly gay personnel to serve is discrimination, compared to 31% who did not see it as discrimination.
The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December 21, 1993, and was in effect from February 28, 1994, until September 20, 2011.
Since DADT ended in 2011, persons who are openly homosexual and bisexual have been able to serve. The "don't ask" part of the DADT policy specified that superiors should not initiate investigation of a service member's orientation without witnessing disallowed behaviors, though credible evidence of homosexual behavior could be used to initiate an investigation.
A July 6, 2011, ruling from a federal appeals court barred further enforcement of the U.S.
President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen sent that certification to Congress on July 22, 2011, which set the end of DADT to September 20, 2011. ==Background== Engaging in [activity] has been grounds for discharge from the American military since the Revolutionary War.
In a settlement announced on May 10, 2011, the Air Force agreed to drop its appeal and remove Witt's discharge from her military record.
On January 28, 2011, the Court denied the Justice Department's request.
On March 28, the LCR filed a brief asking that the court deny the administration's request. In 2011, while waiting for certification, several service members were discharged under DADT at their own insistence, until July 6 when a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals re-instated Judge Phillips' injunction barring further enforcement of the U.S.
House of Representatives approved the Murphy amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011.
Hunter announced plans in January 2011 to introduce a bill designed to delay the end of DADT.
Congressional efforts to prevent the change in policy from going into effect continued into May and June 2011. On January 29, 2011, Pentagon officials stated that the training process to prepare troops for the end of DADT would begin in February and would proceed quickly, though they suggested that it might not be completed in 2011.
On the same day, the DOD announced it would not offer any additional compensation to service members who had been discharged under DADT, who received half of the separation pay other honorably discharged service members received. In May 2011, the U.S.
Army reprimanded three colonels for performing a skit in March 2011 at a function at Yongsan Garrison, South Korea, that mocked the repeal. In May 2011, revelations that an April Navy memo relating to its DADT training guidelines contemplated allowing same-sex weddings in base chapels and allowing chaplains to officiate if they so chose resulted in a letter of protest from 63 Republican congressman, citing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as controlling the use of federal property.
The DOD noted that participation "does not constitute a declaration of sexual orientation". President Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sent the certification required by the Repeal Act to Congress on July 22, 2011, setting the end of DADT for September 20, 2011.
On September 30, 2011, the Department of Defense modified regulations to reflect the repeal by deleting "homosexual conduct" as a ground for administrative separation. ===Day of repeal and aftermath=== On the eve of repeal, US Air Force 1st Lt.
When asked for her comment, a spokesperson for the Marine Corps said: "It's your typical homecoming photo." On September 30, 2011, Under Secretary of Defense Clifford Stanley announced the DOD's policy that military chaplains are allowed to perform same-sex marriages "on or off a military installation" where local law permits them.
Some religious groups announced that their chaplains would not participate in such weddings, including an organization of evangelical Protestants, the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty and Roman Catholics led by Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. In late October 2011, speaking at the Air Force Academy, Col.
A Defense Department spokesperson said implementation of repeal occurred without incident and added: "We attribute this success to our comprehensive pre-repeal training program, combined with the continued close monitoring and enforcement of standards by our military leaders at all levels." In December 2011, Congress considered two DADT-related amendments in the course of work on the National Defense Authorization Act for 2012.
Mitt Romney said that the winding down of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan obviated his opposition to the repeal and said he was not proposing any change to policy. On September 22, 2011, the audience at a Republican candidates' debate booed a U.S.
(University of North Carolina Press, 2011) Tim McFeeley, "Getting It Straight: A Review of the 'Gays in the Military' Debate", in John D'Emilio, William B.
On January 20, 2012, U.S.
Brandon Morgan kissing his partner at a February 22, 2012, homecoming celebration on Marine Corps Base Hawaii went viral.
A Defense Department spokesperson said implementation of repeal occurred without incident and added: "We attribute this success to our comprehensive pre-repeal training program, combined with the continued close monitoring and enforcement of standards by our military leaders at all levels." In December 2011, Congress considered two DADT-related amendments in the course of work on the National Defense Authorization Act for 2012.
Neither amendment appeared in the final legislation. In July 2012, the Department of Defense granted permission for military personnel to wear their uniforms while participating in the San Diego Pride Parade.
Another reported on the experience of lesbian and gay troops, including some rejection after coming out to colleagues. The Palm Center, a think tank that studies issues of sexuality and the military, released a study in September 2012 that found no negative consequences, nor any effect on military effectiveness from DADT repeal.
It provided for the payment of full separation pay to service members discharged under DADT since November 10, 2004, who had previously been granted only half that. ==2012 presidential campaign issue== Several candidates for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination called for the restoration of DADT, including Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum.
Two days later, Obama commented on the incident while addressing a dinner of the Human Rights Campaign: "You want to be commander in chief? You can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States, even when it's not politically convenient". In June 2012, Rep.
The study included surveys of 553 generals and admirals who had opposed repeal, experts who supported DADT, and more than 60 heterosexual, gay, lesbian and bisexual active duty service personnel. On January 7, 2013, the ACLU reached a settlement with the federal government in Collins v.
Discharges exceeded 600 every year until 2009. ==State-based gay and lesbian military veteran laws== In November 2019, both Rhode Island and New York State signed into law and implemented restoring military benefits to gay and lesbian military veterans.
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