'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Turns 15

Joan Derrah, a lesbian who kept her sexual orientation to herself during her Naval career, recalls how the "don't ask, don't tell" policy led to a rise in interest regarding homosexuality among the ranks.
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By MARK THOMPSON/WASHINGTON

It was 15 years ago, Tuesday, that President Clinton rolled out the policy that came to be known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which relaxed the long-standing bar against gay men and women serving in the U.S. military. While the move was initially hailed as progress for the rights of gays in the military, today many see it as a liability.

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While the phrase "don't ask, don't tell" wasn't used at that January 29, 1993, press conference, that's what everyone soon began calling the policy. It boiled down to this: the government would no longer "ask" recruits if they were gay, and so long as military personnel didn't "tell" anyone of their sexual preference — and didn't engage in homosexual acts — they were free to serve. But, by the end of 1993, opponents of the change, led by Georgia Democrat Sam Nunn, who chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee, succeeded in writing into law the ban on openly gay men and lesbians in uniform. Barring the pre-enlistment question about homosexuality "was the only compromise Congress let Clinton get away with," says Elaine Donnelly, president of the non-profit Center for Military Readiness which supports continuing the ban. "The law respects the power of sexuality and the normal human desire for modesty in sexual matters."

Writing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" into law meant that no new President can eliminate the ban without first convincing a majority of Congress to go along — a far higher hurdle than Clinton faced. All the Democratic candidates favor lifting the ban; the G.O.P. candidates support keeping it. "I think President Clinton meant well, but when he set out to implement his vision he ran into a buzz saw," says Aubrey Sarvis, an ex-GI and executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a nonprofit group dedicating to lifting the ban. "I see very few, if any, good things about 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' — it means you have to lie or deceive every day."

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1707545,00.html

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Ahh, good times. And major hat tip to CNN for rolling out that tired right wing talking point when referring to the LGBT community: "sexual preference". There's much more to comment on, but I'd rather focus on the tens of thousands of our country's male and female protectors (including those dispensable translators) that lost their jobs and had their lives ruined over the last 15 years.

:patriot: