Don't Ask Don't Tell Repealed by Both Houses

The Senate voted this weekend to repeal the United States military’s ban on open service by lesbian, gay, or bisexual individuals, known colloquially as 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' ('DADT'), in a bipartisan vote of 65-31. The historic vote comes on the heels of the House of Representatives approval of the repeal on December 15 and the completion of the Pentagon's 9-month study on the effects of ending the policy in the military, which found that the majority of service members believe that the impact on their units would be positive, mixed or of no consequence at all. The City Bar applauds both houses for voting to end this discriminatory policy which has caused the discharge of over 13,000 service members based on nothing more than their sexual orientation. A strong advocate for repeal, the City Bar has issued reports, testimony and letters to legislators in support of ending DADT. The legislation now awaits the action of President Obama, who is expected to sign the bill before the end of the year. Once signed into law, the repeal will go into effect 60-days after the President, Defense Secretary and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have certified that the military is ready to make the change.

December 20, 2010