Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Who?

The US military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, signed by former president Bill Clinton in 1993, policy prohibits anyone who “demonstrate(s) a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts” from serving in the armed forces because “it would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.”

In 1992, the death of Seaman Allen Schindler brought the issue of gay service members into the public arena. Pres. Clinton introduced the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy under compromise with legislators who opposed a complete repeal of the 1982 Department of Defense Directive 1332.14, the military’s prior ban on gays in the military.

The U.S. Senate voted 65 to 31 December 18 2010 to repeal the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell act, sending President Obama legislation to overturn the policy and allow gays to serve openly in the military.

“By ending ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay,” President Obama said in a statement today. “And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love.”

Four Words “What Does God Think”?

This entry was posted on 4. January 2011 at 13:36 and is filed under Don't Ask. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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