Abstract
The purpose of this research is to clarify the origin points of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, its effects, repeal, and the effects of the repeal. It also explains the monetary statistics, amount of discharges since its commencement and emotional toll it has taken on service members. Though the scope of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy is great, attempts are made to explain the specifics from commencement, to repeal.

The Injustice of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Homo. Faggot. Queer. Dyke. These are some slurs many homosexuals have been subjected to. In the land of equality and freedom, everyone deserves equal treatment. Ironically, those who serve their country are a victim of the most unjust and unequal treatment; most notably the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy, (DADT) which was passed to subjugate gay service members. This policy has a long and unclear history but one thing is clear: it has robbed proud homosexual service members of their honor. Its origin, effects, repeal, and the effects of its repeal have illustrated this truth.
In March 1778 in Valley Forge, PA the first homosexual case in the military came when a male officer in the Army was dishonorably discharged for having sex with a fellow soldier. This was a violation of the Articles of War, a “precursor to the Uniform Code of Military Justice”. During World War II, proactive investigations proceeded to seek out homosexuals in the military; not too long after in 1957, Navy Captain and chairman of the United States Navy Board of Inquiry S.H. Crittenden released a report with evidence to suggest homosexuality did not pose a risk to military readiness. In 1981 Department of Defense (DOD) Directive 1332.14 clearly outlined that any “homosexual status is grounds for discharge” (Breza, 2007), regardless what the Crittenden report found. Then in 1993, President William J. Clinton passed a law that allowed service members to serve their country, so long as they did not disclose their sexuality. This became known as the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy (Leonard, 2011). Many legal authorities believe that to force someone to hide their sexuality can be viewed as a violation against the 14th amendment, equal protection of the law. Many organizations, including the APA, expressed serious concerns about the policy. In fact, the APA state in their proceedings that:
...empirical evidence fails to show that sexual orientation is germane to any aspect of military effectiveness including unit cohesion, morale, recruitment and retention …and comparative data from foreign militaries and domestic police and fire departments show that when lesbians, gay men and bisexuals are allowed to serve openly there is no evidence of disruption or loss of mission effectiveness…(Paige, 2005)
Before DADT, homosexuals were not allowed to serve at all in the military. There was a compromise between democrats and republicans to pass DADT instead of fully lifting the ban. Since inception, it has cost the U.S over $190 million dollars to discharge gay s in the military (Crea, 2005). Twelve thousand service members have been discharged; of the 12,000 discharged, 8 percent (Bull, 2008) held mission-critical roles such as voice interceptor, data processing technician or interpreter/translator. These statistics, however, do not include National Guard, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.
The emotional toll and physical pain suffered is also a huge factor in DADT. There are over 12,000 stories to tell about discharges in the military. Of them, one story stands as a painful reminder to those who served under the DADT, and also if situations of harassment are left unchecked by superiors. Private First Class Barry Winchell was only a few months into his training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky in 1999 when Private Calvin Glover, one of his fellow soldier peers repeatedly harassed him about being gay, insulting him with gay slurs. One night, as Winchell lay asleep in his bunk, Glover took a bat and bashed in his skull (Jacobs, 2006). As a result, President Bill Clinton modified the Uniform Code of Military Justice (which outlined the DADT policy) to include hate crimes be factored in when sentencing those found guilty in trials similar to Winchell’s.
The road to the repeal came in 2003 when a particular case in Massachusetts led to the challenge that criminalizing sodomy violated the due process of law, clearing the way for opponents of DADT to challenge the government’s justification of the policy (Leonard, 2011). One civil suit after another began to pile up pronouncing the injustice of the DADT. Civilian activist groups like The Servicemember’s Legal Defense Network and others in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered communities advocated petitions to the White House and urging Americans to fight for the repeal of DADT. As mentioned before, Bill Clinton ran for and was elected president promising to lift the ban on homosexual service in the military. In 2006, the federal government refused to fund colleges and universities who had non-discrimination policies in place that conflicted with DADT. In 2007, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act was conceptualized which would effectively repeal DADT. In May 2010, piggybacking on an amendment to the annual defense spending bill and pending a conducted study, the policy was effectively overturned. Also as mentioned before, on November 30th of the same year, a report was released concluding homosexual behavior in the military did not adversely affect military readiness (Cannistra, Downs, & Rivero, 2010). On March 3, 2010 Senator Joseph Lieberman and 12 other senators introduced the Military Readiness Enhancement Act in order to repeal the existing mandate (Leonard, 2011). Minority leader Nancy Pelosi of the House was for the repeal. The following Republican senators were against the repeal: Susan Collins & Olympia Snowe (ME), Scott Brown (MA), Richard Burr (NC), John Ensign (NV), Mark Kirk (IL), Lisa Murkowski (AK), George Voinovich (OH). Democratic senator Joe Manchin (WV) was also against the repeal (Wockner, 2010).

Figure 1 Barack Obama signs repeal http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html
On December 18, 2010, The Senate approved the Bill repealing the law. During the enquiry, Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were in company to testify of its unfairness. In a vote in the House of 250 to 175, the repeal became reality. Finally, on September 20, 2011, President Barack Obama signed the Bill (see Figure 1), and the DADT was history (Keen, 2010).
It has been a long and tumultuous experience for those in the military to have to hide their homosexuality as though it were a crime. The history of the DADT is long and complicated and it has impacted service members negatively. Yet as the days go on, there is an interesting revolution happening; homosexuals in general are being accepted more, and in the military as well. The law’s origin, effects, and repeal have shown the very reason why it robs American citizens of their rights. Politicians against homosexuality and anti-gay activists need to realize homosexuality is no different than the shade of one’s skin or being right handed. As one of my good friends put it to one of his straight debaters, “I’ll stop being gay if you stop having gay babies.”
References
Breza, R. (2007). Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Timeline. Stars and Stripes. Retrieved from http://legacy.stripes.com/07/may07/TIMELINE.pdf
Bull, C. (2001). Barry Winchell's legacy. Advocate, (842), 25-27. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Cannistra, M.K., Downs, K., & Rivero, C. (November 30, 2010). A History of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/dont-ask-dont-tell-timeline/
Crea, J. (2005, March 4). GAO report details cost of military's gay ban. Washington Blade. pp. 10-21. Retrieved from EBSCOhost..
Jacobs, E. (2006, October 26). Winchell murder conspirator released. Bay Windows. p. 5. Retrieved from EBSCOhost..
Keen, L. (2010, December 22). DADT repeal passes Senate. Windy City Times. pp. 1-3. Retrieved from EBSCOhost..
Leonard, A. (2011). DADT Military Policy to End September 20, 2011. Lesbian -- Gay Law Notes, 169-170. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Paige, R.U. (2005). Council of representatives approved minutes July 28 & 30 2004. Retrieved October 13, 2011 from http://www.apa.org/about/governance/council/04july-crminutes.aspx
Wockner, R. (2010, December 23). 'Don't ask, don't tell' repealed. Between the Lines (10807551). p. 9.