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Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people. Instituted during the Clinton administration , the policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December 21, 1993, and was in effect from February 28, 1994, until September 20, 2011. [1]
- Before 'Don’T Ask, Don’T Tell': Expulsions, Exclusion
- 'Don’T Ask, Don’T Tell': The Policy
- Was 'Don’T Ask, Don’T Tell' A Step Forward?
- The Repeal of 'Don’T Ask, Don’T Tell'
Though the U.S. military did not officially exclude LGBTQ service members from its ranks before the mid-20th century, “homosexual acts” were grounds for discharge as far back as the Revolutionary War. In the aftermath of World War I, the military made the act of sodomy a crime subject to punishment by a court-martial. As the nation prepared for Wor...
During his 1992 presidential campaign, Bill Clinton announced his intention to end the ban on homosexuals in the military if elected. Gay rights supporters rejoiced, but the new president’s efforts met with stiff bipartisan opposition in Congress. As reported in the Atlantic, documents released by the Clinton Library in 2014 about the debate includ...
Though Clinton admittedthe policy was “not a perfect solution,” he presented it as a “major step forward” from the existing ban. But many gay rights activists criticized the policy as falling way short, claiming DADT did little to promote acceptance of gays and lesbians within the military. The statute itself concluded that homosexuality, if openly...
Barack Obama campaigned for president in 2008 with a promise to immediately overturn DADT, but the discharges continued during his first year in the White House. By 2010, several U.S. states (including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire) had legalized same-sex marriage. Later that year, the Pentagon announced the resultsof a repo...
- Sarah Pruitt
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Dec 23, 2020 · Nation Dec 22, 2020 8:08 PM EDT. When President Bill Clinton signed the 1993 bill that became known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” rehashing the military’s World War II-era ban on gay and...
- Ali Rogin
May 1, 2024 · Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT), byname for the former official U.S. policy (1993–2011) regarding the service of homosexuals in the military. The term was coined after Pres. Bill Clinton in 1993 signed a law (consisting of statute, regulations, and policy memoranda) directing that military personnel
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". The discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on gay and lesbian service members is officially in the dustbin of history. For 17 years, the law prohibited qualified gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans from serving in the armed forces and sent a message that discrimination was acceptable.
Apr 24, 2011 · Don't ask, don't tell (DADT) is the term commonly used for the policy restricting United States military personnel from efforts to discriminate or harass closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while barring those who are openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual from military service.
