On February 24, 1994, the Clinton Administration instituted a law that would allow gay and lesbian persons to serve in the military if they kept quiet about their sexual orientation. This new law was known widely as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, or DADT. Although it was meant to ease the fire within this debate, many human rights activists saw it as a law that encouraged discrimination against gay and lesbian officers. While a small population saw this law was a step in the right direction for equal rights, it did not satisfy the LGBT community or those who wished to destroy intolerance in the military. Men and women whom the law affected, while still allowed to serve, were struck with constant anxiety from the fear of being discovered and discharged …show more content…
A former United States Senator Barry Goldwater has a famous quote that reads, “You don't need to be straight to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight.” This, although said many years before Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was implemented, shined a light on the issue of civil rights for gays and lesbians. Who was to say that a gay man did not have the same rights to fight for his country’s freedom as a straight man did? Goldwater was simply trying to explain that a person's sexuality does not, and can never, directly affect the way he performs. Once it was clear that valuable men and women were being discharged, a powerful argument that was no longer solely based on morality became a major factor of repealing the law. At the Democrats’ second 2008 Presidential Debate, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton explained that “Arabic linguists [have been] discharged under 'don't ask/don't tell' when we are unfortunately so short of having people who speak the very language that our men and women in uniform have to understand in the streets of Baghdad.” In addition to these men and women, over 13,000 people were discharged under the law along with 4,000 who resigned rather than serve under DADT. As a result of the estimated $52,000 it took to train each soldier, the United States lost around $383