1Center or American Progress | The Repeal o Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell—1 Year Later
The Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell—1 Year Later
Crosby Burns and Alex Rothman September 20, 2012
One year ago oday he ban on openly gay miliary service—also known as Don’ Ask,Don’ ell, or DAD—came o an end as he law’s repeal nally wen ino eec. Fromha poin on, gay men and women have been able o serve heir counry openly, hon-esly, and, or he rs ime, wihou punishmen.
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Te ransiion o open service has proceeded smoohly over he pas 12 monhs despiedoomsday predicions by supporers o he gay ban. In he years leading up o repeal, pro-ponens o Don’ Ask, Don’ ell repeaedly claimed ha open service would underminehe uni cohesion and readiness o he U.S. miliary. Bu no repuable sudy ever showedha allowing service by openly gay personnel compromises miliary eeciveness.
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Moreover, hey coninued o make hese claims even aer he Penagon released acomprehensive pre-repeal survey o service members revealing ha he vas majoriy o roops were already serving wih someone hey knew o be gay or lesbian, and hadoing so in no way hreaened uni cohesion or miliary readiness. Tey also made heseasserions despie he ac ha some o our closes oreign allies repealed heir gay bans wihou any impac o uni cohesion or miliary readiness.One year laer i is clear ha gay and lesbian roops were never a hrea o miliary readi-ness, and his week he rs academic sudy o he issue ound ha U.S. naional securiy has been enhanced by he realiy o open service, no diminished by i.One year laer our armed orces are sronger hanks o he honorable service o openly gay men and women. Our miliary no longer urns away Americans willing o serve heircounry because o heir sexual orienaion. Our miliary no longer orces ou oherwisequalied roops–including hose wih “mission criical” skills such as engineers or Arabiclinguiss–simply because hey are gay. And our miliary no longer squanders millions o axpayer dollars o enorce a awed policy ha asked roops o lie abou who hey are.In shor our counry is beter o oday han i was one year ago when he ban on openly gay service coninued o exis. Even in a pos-DAD world, however, oudaed laws and
2Center or American Progress | The Repeal o Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell—1 Year Later
policies sill preven gay service members and heir amilies rom accessing he benesaorded o heir sraigh counerpars.
Open service has enhanced our national security
Las week he Palm Cener—an academic research insiue a he Universiy o Caliornia, Sana Barbara—released he rs comprehensive sudy o he eecs o heDAD repeal on miliary readiness. o measure he impac o open service on miliary readiness, he auhors o he sudy polled and inerviewed acive-duy service members,observed miliary unis, and me wih represenaives rom major organizaions on bohsides o he DAD debae over he pas six monhs. Teir ndings were clear: “DADrepeal has enhanced he miliary’s abiliy o pursue is mission.”
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Te Palm Cener concludes ha DAD repeal has had “no negaive eec” on any com-ponen o miliary readiness, including “cohesion, recruimen, reenion, assauls, harass-men or morale.”
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Repeal has no sparked mass resignaions in he ranks or a widespreaddecrease in morale; roops are jus as likely o re-enlis as hey were pre-repeal.
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Nor hasopen service caused a jump in anigay violence. In ac some gay service members appearo eel beter able o resolve dispues relaing o heir sexual orienaion under he new policy.
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Perhaps mos imporanly, he sudy nds ha DAD repeal “has no had any discernible impac, eiher posiive or negaive, on recruimen or reenion.”
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Te U.S. miliary’s smooh ransiion o open service is ar rom surprising. Even beorerepeal, decades o sudies, as well as he experiences o some o our closes allies, pro- vided overwhelming evidence ha dropping he gay ban would no undermine U.S.naional securiy.Te Unied Kingdom, Canada, and Israel—hree close U.S. allies wih similarly sruc-ured miliaries—have long allowed gay and lesbian roops o serve openly.
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As a resul,U.S. service members have been serving admirably openly gay oreign roops in coali-ion eors in Iraq and Aghanisan or years.Moreover, in 2010, wih he Obama adminisraion pushing or repeal, he Penagonlaunched a yearlong sudy on he consequences o ending Don’ Ask, Don’ ell. Teresuls, released in November 2010, se he sage or repeal. Sixy-nine percen o roopspolled said hey were already working in a uni wih someone hey believed o be gay or lesbian. An asounding 92 percen o hose individuals believed heir uni’s “abil-iy o work ogeher” was eiher “very good,” “good,” or “neiher good nor poor”—hisincludes 89 percen o hose in Army comba arms unis and 84 percen o hose inMarine comba arms unis.
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3Center or American Progress | The Repeal o Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell—1 Year Later
Over he pas wo years, he miliary admirably worked o implemen he repeal o Don’ Ask, Don’ ell. And allowing gay and lesbian men and women o proudly serve heircounry has proved o be no only a moral vicory bu also a vicory in he Unied Saes’long-erm securiy ineress. Te counry will no longer lose counless qualied men and women each year due o his discriminaory policy.
Even with open service, gay service members do not have equal accessto military benefits
While gay service members can now serve heir counry openly and honesly, hey aresill no aorded he same benes ha heir sraigh counerpars receive.Miliary personnel have access o imporan benes ha oer employmen securiy andnancial suppor o hem and heir amilies. Tese benes include housing allowances,ravel and relocaion assisance, and miliary healh insurance.
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Bu even under openservice, gay service members and heir amilies do no have equal access o miliary benes.
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Te primary reason or his inequiable access is he Deense o Marriage Ac, orDOMA, a ederal law ha denes marriage solely as he union beween one man andone woman. Under his exclusive deniion, same-sex couples–even hose who arelegally married–canno access a range o ederal benes normally aorded o marriedcouples, including governmen programs and ax breaks.For gay members o he armed orces, he governmen canno oer benes such ashealh care o same-sex parners (and poenially o heir children) because hose benes operae under he Deense o Marriage Ac’s resricive deniion o “spouse.”Luckily, oher benes are no linked o he ac and can be exended o same-sex par-ners and legally recognized children. Te Penagon Working Group (PWG)–a commis-sion asked wih developing comprehensive recommendaions or implemening DADrepeal–divided benes ino hree broad caegories or gay service members:
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Benefits that cannot be extended to same-sex partners.
Tese benes are governed by ederal saue and specically include “spouse” wihin heir deniion o depen-den. Because o he Deense o Marriage Ac, gay service members and heir amiliesdo no have equal access o hese benes. Tese include he Basic Allowance orHousing, healh insurance benes hrough RICARE, and counless benes ormiliary veerans and heir amilies.
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Benefits that are not prohibited by statute, but are currently not extended to same-sex partners under Pentagon regulations.
Deparmen o Deense regulaions ie cer-ain benes o he governmen’s resricive deniion o “spouse” under he Deense
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The Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell—1 Year Later
Our country is better off today than it was when the ban on openly gay service continued to exist, but our military leaders should work to ensure that U.S. service members, regardless of their sexual orientation, receive the support they deserve.
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