About “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: History of the Issue

Timeline

• November 30, 1993: President Bill Clinton signed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) into law, which mandates the discharge of openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual service members.
• 2001: The number of service members fired under DADT reaches 1273, the highest number of discharges in a single year to date.
• December 6, 2004: SLDN filed the Cook v. Gates lawsuit on behalf of 12 service members discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" who were seeking reinstatement in the military.
• March 2, 2005: Rep. Marty Meehan, (D-MA) introduced the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (MREA) to repeal DADT.
• February 14, 2006: A Blue Ribbon Commission estimated that DADT cost the Pentagon at least $363.8 million to implement during its first 10 years.
• July 23, 2008: SLDN worked with repeal coalition partners to organize the first DADT hearing in the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) since 1993.
• July 2008: 75 percent of Americans -- including 64 percent of Republicans -- said they think gays who publicly disclose their sexual orientation should be allowed to serve in the military (Washington Post).
• June 2009: For the first time, a clear majority of conservatives and weekly churchgoers expressed support for repeal of DADT (Gallup).
• January 27, 2010: President Obama pledged in his State of the Union speech to work with Congress to end DADT that year.
• February 2, 2010: Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, told the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) they wanted repeal to happen that year.
• March 3, 2010: Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) introduced the first-ever bill in the Senate to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
• March 29, 2010: New guidance (DoD Instruction 1332.14, Enlisted Administrative Separations DoD and DoD Instruction 1332.30, Separation of Regular and Reserve Commissioned Officers) issued requiring the following: DADT investigations must be approved by O-7 or higher; Inquiry Officer must be O-5 or higher; and separation must be approved by O-7 or higher. The new guidance also better defines “credible information” and “reliable source,” while establishing some confidentiality for statements made to lawyers, psychotherapists, and clergy.
• May 27, 2010: the House of Representatives adopted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 234 to 194 that would lead to the repeal of DADT.
• The SASC added an identical provision in the bill it reported to the Senate the same day.
• September 21, 2010: Senator John McCain (R-AZ) filibustered the entire NDAA, which included DADT repeal, and did so again on December 9.
• October 21, 2010: Memo issued from Secretary of Defense Gates with memo from Under Secretary Stanley requiring that any discharge under DADT be personally approved by the Secretary of the military department concerned, in coordination with DoD General Counsel and Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness.
• November 30, 2010: The Pentagon released the Comprehensive Review Working Group (CRWG) report, which examined the impact of repeal implementation on the armed forces.
• December 15, 2010: The House passed a stand-alone DADT bill, 250-175. This bill reflected the language of the repeal provision in the NDAA.
• December 18, 2010: The Senate passed the House’s stand-alone DADT bill, 65-31.
• December 22, 2010: President Obama signed the bill allowing for repeal of DADT. However, repeal has yet to be certified, and "Don't Ask" remains the law. DADT repeal legislation passed by Congress requires the President, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to “certify” that the military is ready for repeal, which will not take place until 60 days after the date certification is issued.
• July 22, 2011: President Obama, Defense Secretary Panetta, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen certified that the U.S. military is ready for DADT repeal.
• September 20, 2011: Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" officially goes into effect.
• More than 14,000 service members have been fired under the law since 1993.