The infamous “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of the United States military has been repealed for some time; however, it stood as the official United States policy on the military service of lesbians, gays, and bisexuals from 1994 until late 2011. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
, also known as “DADT”, became a hot topic not just with gay military members, but also with the entire gay community and eventually, with human rights groups and beyond.
Okay, so maybe it took 17 years to be repealed, but it’s progress; the history of the DADT
policy is one with origins that go back to 1950 and President Harry Truman. That’s when he signed the Uniform Code of Military Justice – a crummy set of discharge rules for homosexual service members.
Fast forward thirty-two years later, and zero progress had been made. In 1982, President Reagan released a defense directive that stated “homosexuality is incompatible with military service
” and those who were homosexual or bisexual, or those who engaged in such activities, were discharged.
During the 1992 Presidential Campaign, Bill Clinton campaigned on the promise to lift the ban on gays serving in the military, but at the end of 1993 all he could come up with was a compromise: The Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
” policy, as it came to be known. This directive stated that applicants shouldn’t be asked about their sexual orientation.
In 2003, Clinton called for an end to DADT, but in 2006 the ban was upheld by the Supreme Court; it was also upheld in federal courts five times. Two years later, Barack Obama promises a full repeal, but it took until December 18, 2010 for the Senate to finally vote for a repeal.
Want to learn more about the dicey timeline following the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
policy? We’ve got the scoop on it all, right here – browse all kinds of awesome articles on it below!