Don't Ask Don't Tell' Policy

Don't ask don't tell' policy of the United States military was implemented in 1993 to keep the military from openly pursuing gay, lesbian, and bisexual members and applicants that were not openly expression their sexual orientation. Under the law, Pub.L. 103-160 (10 U.S.C. § 654), the military could still bar any service personnel that engaged in gay, lesbian, or bisexual acts of lifestyles from serving in the armed forces.

In this essay, it will be examined how the policy has affected certain people and why it was put into place originally. Gay people have been removed from the military since 1916. They were given general or dishonorable discharges depending on whether or not they were caught openly committing the sexual act. These were known as "blue" discharges. Pub.L. 103-160 (10 U.S.C. § 654) was enacted in to law in 1993 by President Bill Clinton.

It became known as 'Don't ask, Don't Tell' (DADT) and kept the United States military from actively pursuing members of the armed services suspected of being gay but not living the lifestyle openly. The law was in response to the brutal murder of U.S. Navy Radioman Third Class Allen Schindler who was killed due to his lifestyle by fellow servicemen. Since the policy has been in place approximately 12,500 members of the armed forces have been discharged.

It had nothing to do with their abilities and cost the military qualified and trained soldiers. Dan Choi, a New York National Guard infantry leader, was a West Point graduate and Arabic language specialist that served in Iraq. After announcing he was gay in a 2009 interview, he was discharged under the DADT policy. Choi states, "stated he will "fight tooth and nail" to keep his position in the Army National Guard.

His homosexuality in no way undermines his qualifications for a job that he had proudly and successfully performed" (the Effects…., 2009). Soldiers with Choi's background are in great demand with the current war in Iraq and due to his lifestyle he can no longer be in the military. He had serviced his country for 15 years. People until recently were biased by the sexual lifestyles of gay people and discrimination was projected on them. Today the gay movement has made some headway in gaining acceptance in to the mainstream.

The DADT policy is a form of discrimination and punishes the soldier by denying them the freedom to live openly and pursue happiness. The topic of DADT is a very controversial but the goal was to prevent the "witch hunt" of people that might be homosexual. The law was meant to be a protection against harassment and violence against people that were suspected of being gay. Measures are in place to try to repeal the law by President Barak Obama.

The Pentagon in anticipation of the measures has made new rules regarding the DADT policy. Anne Flaherty, in the Huffington Post article, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy Softened by Pentagon in Step towards Full Repeal," quotes Defense Secretary Bill Gates as saying "The changes would tighten the rules for evidence when someone reports that a soldier is gay and put higher-ranking officers in charge of dismissal proceedings.".