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Gay Troops Beware: You Can Still Be Fired Under DADT

The fight to get rid of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) law is nowhere near complete. As we approach the end of July, the full Senate has yet to vote on repeal. Supporters of repeal must be vigilant and ready to push back hard on a desperate opposition in the weeks and months ahead as the senate battle heats up on Capitol Hill.

The Advocate recently reported that we aren’t at the finish line yet:

"At press time, repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” is not a done deal. And you won’t read any celebratory headlines regarding its demise in any issue of this magazine this year. Movement in Congress in recent months has repeal advocates “cautiously optimistic.” But critical steps, from the completion of a Pentagon working group study to an executive order calling for a nondiscrimination clause that firmly protects openly gay service members, have yet to be taken."

Now is not only the time for backers of open service to tell their senators to support repeal, but to remind gay and lesbian service members that they can still be kicked out of the military under DADT. While DoD created some additional protections for lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members in March of this year, this law remains just as much a danger now as 17 years ago when it first came into being. If you are gay or lesbian, it’s still not safe to be open and honest about your sexual orientation to virtually anyone at anytime. These risks are in no way diminished because of votes for repeal this past May in the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House. The law is still on the books and the Pentagon is still firing people for being gay.

Read our warning to service members and spread the word that DADT continues to put gay and lesbian service members in the crosshairs: http://bit.ly/ds7JAL

07-23-10 By Aaron Tax, SLDN Legal Director |