About “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

What Is "Don't Ask, Don't Tell?"

• Passed by Congress in 1993, DADT is a law mandating the discharge of openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual service members. 
• More than 13,500 service members have been fired under the law since 1994.

Movement To End Ban

• President Obama said, “I will end ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’”
• Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, told Congress that repealing DADT is “the right thing to do.” Former Chairman John Shalikashvili agrees. Colin Powell and Richard Cheney say it’s time to re-examine this law.
• By a vote of 234 to 194, the House of Representatives adopted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that could lead to the repeal of DADT in early 2011.
• The Senate Armed Services Committee included an identical provision in the bill it reported to the Senate.
• Under this amendment, repeal would await the report of the Working Group established by the Defense Department. The Working Group is studying how to best implement repeal, not whether DADT should be repealed. Repeal will become effective 60 days after the President, Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs certify that new regulations have been prepared and that repeal is consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces. 

Growing Military Support for Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

• 73 percent of military personnel are comfortable with lesbians and gays (Zogby International, 2006).
• The younger generations, those who fight America's 21st century wars, largely don't care about whether someone is gay or not-and they do not link job performance with sexual orientation.
• A recent article in Joint Force Quarterly concludes, “after a careful examination, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that unit cohesion will be negatively affected if homosexuals serve openly.”

Growing Public Support to End "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

• Seventy-five percent of Americans support gays serving openly (ABC News/Washington Post, 2010). This includes majorities of Independents (77%) and Republicans (64%) who favor repeal.
• Majorities of weekly churchgoers (60%) and conservatives (58%) also want DADT repealed (Gallup, 2009).

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Hurts Military Readiness.

• The U.S. must recruit and retain the greatest number of the best and brightest - especially while we are fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• The Pentagon reports that 75% of young Americans are ineligible to serve in our military because of inadequate education, criminal records or weight problems. Conduct waivers have been given for recruits with records of bomb threats, sex crimes and negligent or vehicular homicide. And yet, qualified, smart, law-abiding and fit youths who want to serve are being excluded merely because of their sexual orientation.
• According to the GAO, as of 2003, the military had discharged more than 750 mission-critical service members and more than 320 with skills in important languages such as Arabic, Korean and Farsi (GAO, Military Personnel: Financial Costs and Loss of Critical Skills Due to DOD’s Homosexual Conduct Policy Cannot Be Completely Estimated).

America's Allies Support Open Military Service.

• More than two dozen countries allow gays to serve openly. The US and Turkey are the only two original NATO countries that still have bans in place.
• Studies of the militaries in Australia, Israel, Great Britain and Canada have shown open service to have no adverse effect on enrollment or retention.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is Expensive.

• The same GAO study identified almost $200 million in costs for the first ten years of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” while concluding that the total costs could not be estimated.
• A follow-up study by an expert commission put these costs at more than $363 million.

Pentagon, Government Studies Support Open Service.

• In 1993, RAND Corp. concluded that openly gay people in the U.S. military do not negatively impact unit cohesion, morale, good order or military readiness. An update of this study should be completed in the next 90 days.
• Several other military-commissioned and GAO studies have concluded that open service does not undermine military readiness, troop morale or national security.

LGBT Patriots Are Serving with Honor and Distinction Now.

• Today, there are at least 66,000 gay Americans serving on active duty and one million gay veterans in the United States, according to the Urban Institute.
• Admiral Mullen told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he had served with gays since 1968.

Federal Government Agencies Do Not Discriminate.

• The CIA, FBI, State Department, the Defense Department on the civilian side, and defense contractors do not discriminate based on sexual orientation.

Further Reading:

History of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Learn more about how the military’s current ban on openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members came to be the law of the land.

The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Law

Read the statute that made discrimination against gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans the law of the land.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Directives, Memos, Etc.

Read Department of Defense directives, memos, and other documents related to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Government Reports on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Learn more about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” from reports commissioned by Congress and the Department of Defense.

SLDN Reports

Learn more about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” from SLDN’s annual reports evaluating the discriminatory policy.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Research & Polls

Explore the existing research on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and its effects on military readiness, and explore polling research on the opinions of political leaders, major newspapers, and ordinary Americans regarding “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Fact Sheets

Get the information you need to advocate for repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell!" These fact sheets may be reproduced to share with friends and colleagues, at community events, with decision makers, and at any other venue to illustrate why the military’s ban on openly lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members should be repealed.