History of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

• “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) was passed by Congress in 1993. Under this law, the military may not ask servicemembers about their sexual orientation, but it must discharge any servicemember known to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual.
• “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was implemented after efforts at the time to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly were unsuccessful. The previous policy had forbidden any service in the U.S. military by gays and lesbians.

Effects of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

The effects of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” on our Armed Services have been overwhelmingly negative. The discriminatory policy not only hurts our national security, but also costs our military valuable resources in personnel and funds:

• Under the restrictions of the current policy, an average of two servicemembers is discharged from the military every day, simply due to their sexual orientation. Since 1994, over 13,000 servicemembers - the equivalent of 3 ½ combat brigades- have been discharged as a result of DADT.
• In the last five years, while our country has been engaged in two wars, the military has discharged over 800 mission-critical troops under of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” including over 50 Arabic linguists.
• Up to $1.3 billion in taxpayer money has been wasted discharging otherwise qualified troops under DADT. It costs the military at least $60,000 to recruit and train each new servicemember, and much more to prosecute and pursue separations under DADT.

Reasons to Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

In addition to the negative effects on military, there are a number of reasons to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”:

• Attitudes toward open service have changed dramatically in the past 16 years. The vast majority of the American public overwhelmingly supports repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and ending the ban on gay and lesbian individuals serving openly in our military.
  • A July 2008 poll by The Washington Post / ABC News found that 75% of Americans favor allowing gays to serve openly in the military. In 1993, that number was only 44%.
  • Support for repeal is bipartisan; 64% of self-identified Republicans were in favor of overturning the ban on open service.
  • Attitudes have also changed in the military. A 2006 Zogby poll of military personnel reported that 73% were comfortable with gays and lesbians.
  
  
• Our military is the best-trained, best-performing force in the world, and to say that our troops cannot handle serving alongside openly-gay colleagues implies that they are not as professional as servicemembers in other nations’ armed forces who do.
  • Over 20 countries, including our strongest allies- Great Britain and Israel- as well as most of our NATO allies, allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in their militaries.
  • Studies of the militaries of Great Britain, Israel, Australia, and Canada – all of which permit the service of openly gay troops – have shown no detrimental impact on recruitment, unit cohesion, or morale.
  • U.S. servicemembers are already serving alongside troops from many of these nations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • In the U.S., federal agencies such as the FBI, CIA, and NSA do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation; only the U.S. military does.

Efforts to Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

• During his campaign, President Obama pledged his support for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” If Congress presents the President with a bill to repeal the policy, he will sign it into law.
• In July of 2009, following Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher’s resignation to become Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Congressman Murphy took over as the lead sponsor of H.R. 1283, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act. Congressman Murphy is working hard to garner support for the bill, and has secured over 20 cosponsors since taking the lead on this legislation.
• On July 8, 2009, Congressman Murphy joined gay and straight veterans and service members to launch the national “Voices of Honor” tour in Washington, DC. This multi-state tour is designed to promote awareness of the need to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and build support to garner additional cosponsors of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act.

Click Here to read H.R. 1283, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act