How did ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (DADT) affect the LGBTQIA+ community?

• The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy went into effect during the Clinton administration. 
• It was meant to allow members of the LGBTQIA+ community to serve in the US military. 
• What was its effect?

In 1993, then-President Bill Clinton signed the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy into law, which ended the ban on gay people serving in the US military, a measure that had been in effect since the end of the second World War. The law represented the end of an era but wasn’t an adequate solution.

The policy prohibited people from being open about their sexual orientation. For some, this represented progress, but for others it meant the beginning of an era of discrimination in which the LGBTQIA+ community lived in fear of being targeted or retaliated against within the military. Learn more about this law and why it was terminated in 2011.

What is ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’?

‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was a policy that was in effect in the United States military from 1993 to 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing gay or bisexual service members, while at the same time prohibiting those who were openly gay or bisexual from serving in the military.

Under the policy, military personnel were not allowed to ask about a service member’s sexual orientation and service members, in turn, could not reveal their sexual orientation. In other words, the participation of the LGBTQIA+ community in the army was not prohibited, but openness to diversity was not promoted either.

Bill Clinton enacted the policy

Until 1982, homosexuality was considered ‘incompatible’ with military service in the United States. However, in 1988, various activist groups began to advocate for the protection of the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, something that the presidential candidates in 1992 saw as an opportunity to create more inclusive policies, and that is how ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ emerged as a policy.

Then-candidate Bill Clinton promoted DADT, which he said was a commitment to ensure that anyone could serve in the United States military regardless of their sexual orientation. Until then, there was a law that prohibited gay or lesbian people from serving.

Who was against DADT?

Since the end of World War II, the United States government prohibited the participation of gays and lesbians in the military. In 1994, when the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy went into effect, the majority of serving members of the military claimed to be against the decision, arguing that the LGBTQIA+ community was ‘promiscuous’ and that their behavior could compromise morale.

For gay rights activists, the policy represented a blow, as they believed that the measure implemented by President Clinton was discriminatory for not allowing people to speak openly about their sexual orientation.

The end of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Until 2004, Republicans were in favor of this law, despite the fact that the American Psychological Association had issued a statement claiming it was discriminatory. At the same time, it was reported that the law cost taxpayers up to $95 million a year because of having to replace soldiers dismissed for being openly gay.

After several attempts to repeal it, on July 22, 2011, President Barak Obama signed a decree which represented the end of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’. He promised that any LGBTQIA+ people who had been dismissed from the military because of their sexual orientation would be reinstated if they so wished. This marked the end of an era and meant a greater openness within the army.