On Wednesday December 22, 2010 President Barack Obama signed a new crucial law at the Interior Department with 500 attendees watching. The new bill repealed a 17-year-old policy that banned homosexuals from serving in the military. The bill President Obama signed is putting an end to the last and final form of prejudices found in the US government, an end that the American public is 77% in favor of this repeal according to a recent study conducted by ABC and the Washington Post.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) was a law put into place in 1993 that forced gays, bisexuals, and lesbians to hide their sexual orientation if they served in the armed forces. If they did not hide their sexual preference, they would promptly face dismissal. Sadly more than 13,500 people have had to experience this abrupt discharge first hand. For these members of the military, it did not matter how many years they had of exemplary performances; they were still asked to leave the armed forces if the truth about their sexuality was revealed. The alternative was to live a lie in order to serve the country they love.
The policy of DADT initially originated as the ouster of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) from Ivy League institutions. These prestigious colleges and universities kicked the ROTC off their campuses in the 1960s because of faculty protests against the Vietnam War and to appease their male students who were anti-war and most affected by ROTC – it was compulsory. The Vietnam War ended but the ban was never lifted. Rather, it took on a whole new idea and name in the form of DADT. Before DADT and ROTC were implemented, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines defended all Americans, gay or straight.
Lead advocates for this repeal were Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, Commander Zoe Dunning, Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senator Joseph Lieberman, Senator Susan Collins, Dan Choi, Rep. John Conyers Jr., Joe Solmonese, head of the Human Rights Campaign, Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Service members Legal Defense Network, and Margarethe Grethe. Grethe and Dunning are both lesbians who received discharges from the U.S. military, and fought to return to the military after their discharge. Pentagon personnel chief Clifford Stanley and staff has already started work on designing a program to educate troops on the change and how the military will handle barracks assignments.
Lead advocates opposing this repeal are Senator John McCain and other Republicans. Their argument for this opposition is that allowing homosexuals to openly serve in the military will disrupt the cohesion of front-line combat units.
President Obama has taken two years to complete his promise to repeal the law. Due to pressure from the liberals, Obama finally took the leap and now his approval ratings are being rewarded for his faith. Before signing the repeal, he remarked, “No longer will our country be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans who are forced to leave the military – regardless of their skills, no matter their bravery or their zeal, no matter their years of exemplary performance – because they happen to be gay. No longer will tens of thousands of Americans in uniform be asked to live a lie, or look over their shoulder in order to serve the country that they love.” Even with President Obama’s signature, DADT’s repeal will not be immediately put into effect. Until the Pentagon certifies to Congress that the military has properly implemented the programs mentioned earlier, the law will not actually change. The Washington Post reports that while the Pentagon waits to give its confirmation, Obama appealed for “those soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who’ve been discharged under this discriminatory policy [to] seek to reenlist once the repeal is implemented.”
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has been advised by Obama “to use his authority to suspend all ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ investigations and discharges during this limbo period,” according to the Washington Post. Obama also cautioned current servicemen to be mindful that they “remain at risk under the law.” Even with Obama’s prudence, it could not put a damper on the repeal of DADT. Wednesday December 22, 2010 will be written in future history books as the day that led to the final day of discrimination in the U.S. and the U.S. military.
Quotes provided by The Washington Post