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1 Center for American Progress |  The Repeal of 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 miliary service󲀔also known as Don’ Ask, Don’ ell, or DAD󲀔came o an end as he law’s repeal finally wen ino effec. From ha poin on, gay men and women have been able o serve heir counry openly, hon-esly, and, or he firs ime, wihou punishmen.
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Te ransiion o open service has proceeded smoohly over he pas 12 monhs despie doomsday predicions by supporers o he gay ban. In he years leading up o repeal, pro-ponens o Don’ Ask, Don’ ell repeaedly claimed ha open service would undermine he uni cohesion and readiness o he U.S. miliary. Bu no repuable sudy ever showed ha allowing service by openly gay personnel compromises miliary effeciveness.
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 Moreover, hey coninued o make hese claims even afer he Penagon released a comprehensive pre-repeal survey o service members revealing ha he vas majoriy o roops were already serving wih someone hey knew o be gay or lesbian, and ha doing so in no way hreaened uni cohesion or miliary readiness. Tey also made hese asserions despie he ac ha some o our closes oreign allies repealed heir gay bans  wihou any impac o uni cohesion or miliary readiness. One year laer i is clear ha gay and lesbian roops were never a hrea o miliary readi-ness, and his week he firs academic sudy o he issue ound ha U.S. naional securiy has been enhanced by he realiy o open service, no diminished by i. One year laer our armed orces are sronger hanks o he honorable service o openly gay men and women. Our miliary no longer urns away Americans willing o serve heir counry because o heir sexual orienaion. Our miliary no longer orces ou oherwise qualified roops–including hose wih “mission criical” skills such as engineers or Arabic linguiss–simply because hey are gay. And our miliary no longer squanders millions o axpayer dollars o enorce a flawed policy ha asked roops o lie abou who hey are.In shor our counry is beter off oday han i was one year ago when he ban on openly gay service coninued o exis. Even in a pos-DAD world, however, oudaed laws and
 
2 Center for American Progress |  The Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell—1 Year Later
policies sill preven gay service members and heir amilies rom accessing he benefis afforded o heir sraigh counerpars.
Open service has enhanced our national security
Las week he Palm Cener󲀔an academic research insiue a he Universiy o Caliornia, Sana Barbara󲀔released he firs comprehensive sudy o he effecs o he DAD repeal on miliary readiness. o measure he impac o open service on miliary readiness, he auhors o he sudy polled and inerviewed acive-duy service members, observed miliary unis, and me wih represenaives rom major organizaions on boh sides o he DAD debae over he pas six monhs. Teir findings were clear: “DAD repeal has enhanced he miliarys abiliy o pursue is mission.”
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 Te Palm Cener concludes ha DAD repeal has had “no negaive effec” on any com-ponen o miliary readiness, including “cohesion, recruimen, reenion, assauls, harass-men or morale.”
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 Repeal has no sparked mass resignaions in he ranks or a widespread decrease in morale; roops are jus as likely o re-enlis as hey were pre-repeal.
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 Nor has open service caused a jump in anigay violence. In ac some gay service members appear o eel beter able o resolve dispues relaing o heir sexual orienaion under he new policy.
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 Perhaps mos imporanly, he sudy finds ha DAD repeal “has no had any discernible impac, eiher posiive or negaive, on recruimen or reenion.
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Te U.S. miliarys smooh ransiion o open service is ar rom surprising. Even beore repeal, decades o sudies, 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. naional securiy. Te Unied Kingdom, Canada, and Israel󲀔hree close U.S. allies wih similarly sruc-ured miliaries󲀔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 effors in Iraq and Aghanisan or years. Moreover, in 2010, wih he Obama adminisraion pushing or repeal, he Penagon launched a yearlong sudy on he consequences o ending Don’ Ask, Don’ ell. Te resuls, released in November 2010, se he sage or repeal. Sixy-nine percen o roops polled said hey were already working in a uni wih someone hey believed o be gay or lesbian. An asounding 92 percen o hose individuals believed heir uni’s “abil-iy o work ogeher” was eiher “very good,” “good,” or “neiher good nor poor”󲀔his includes 89 percen o hose in Army comba arms unis and 84 percen o hose in Marine comba arms unis.
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3 Center for American Progress |  The Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell—1 Year Later
Over he pas wo years, he miliary admirably worked o implemen he repeal o Don’  Ask, Don’ ell. And allowing gay and lesbian men and women o proudly serve heir counry has proved o be no only a moral vicory bu also a vicory in he Unied Saes’ long-erm securiy ineress. Te counry will no longer lose counless qualified men and  women each year due o his discriminaory policy.
Even with open service, gay service members do not have equal access to military benefits
 While gay service members can now serve heir counry openly and honesly, hey are sill no afforded he same benefis ha heir sraigh counerpars receive. Miliary personnel have access o imporan benefis ha offer employmen securiy and financial suppor o hem and heir amilies. Tese benefis include housing allowances, ravel and relocaion assisance, and miliary healh insurance.
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 Bu even under open service, gay service members and heir amilies do no have equal access o miliary  benefis.
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Te primary reason or his inequiable access is he Deense o Marriage Ac, or DOMA, a ederal law ha defines marriage solely as he union beween one man and one woman. Under his exclusive definiion, same-sex couples–even hose who are legally married–canno access a range o ederal benefis normally afforded o married couples, including governmen programs and ax breaks.For gay members o he armed orces, he governmen canno offer benefis such as healh care o same-sex parners (and poenially o heir children) because hose  benefis operae under he Deense o Marriage Ac’s resricive definiion o “spouse.Luckily, oher benefis are no linked o he ac and can be exended o same-sex par-ners and legally recognized children. Te Penagon Working Group (PWG)–a commis-sion asked wih developing comprehensive recommendaions or implemening DAD repeal–divided benefis ino hree broad caegories or gay service members:
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Benefits that cannot be extended to same-sex partners.
Tese benefis are governed  by ederal saue and specifically include “spouse” wihin heir definiion o depen-den. Because o he Deense o Marriage Ac, gay service members and heir amilies do no have equal access o hese benefis. Tese include he Basic Allowance or Housing, healh insurance benefis hrough RICARE, and counless benefis or miliary veerans and heir amilies.
Benefits that are not prohibited by statute, but are currently not extended to same-sex partners under Pentagon regulations.
Deparmen o Deense regulaions ie cer-ain benefis o he governmen’s resricive definiion o “spouse” under he Deense

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