Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — Good-Bye and Good Riddance
September 20, 2011 at 3:10 AM Leave a comment
Think about that name for a minute: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. How barbaric, but as of 12:01 a.m. ET today, DADT is history:
More than 17 years after a tortured political compromise that left no one happy, “don’t ask, don’t tell” is done.
On Tuesday, President Bill Clinton’s 1993 directive that allowed gays and lesbians to serve in the military without discrimination as long as they stayed in the closet will be formally repealed. The measure had mandated that applicants weren’t to be asked about their sexuality, and it barred military brass from investigating a service member’s sexual orientation without credible evidence.
The repeal of DADT — which stirred anger among conservatives and liberals alike, touching off a nearly two-decades-long debate — was approved by Congress last year, signed by President Barack Obama, who had made it a campaign pledge in 2008, and given final authorization by military leaders this summer.
“As of Sept. 20, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they are in order to serve our country,” Obama said in a statement in July.
Thank God. What a dark chapter that was.
Entry filed under: GLBT, Repression, Wars. Tags: .
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