A Small Step Forward
Today is one of those days that makes me extra proud to be an American (even if the DREAM Act failed this time). Here’s a little background on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, necessarily shortened and simplified for space.
1993 was a different age, at least in terms of American acceptance of homosexuality. You rarely had a gay character on television unless he was broad comic relief. Openly gay celebrities? They didn’t exist, except for a few Brits.
By 1993, it had been Defense Department policy for decades (and, arguably, for centuries) to prohibit homosexuals from serving in the armed forces. After President Clinton took office with a campaign promise to end the ban, Congress quickly acted to shut down any such effort by writing the anti-gay policy into law.
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) was probably the best President Clinton could do in his era. DADT itself was not the ban, but a defense directive from the White House (sort of like an executive order) that tried to minimize the effects of the ban by stifling communication about who was gay. Technically, it was better than the earlier policy because gays could serve as long as they didn’t declare themselves as gay and as long as no one came forward with credible evidence they were gay. The command structure was supposed to stop the witch hunts. (The full policy included “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue, Don’t Harass.”) In many places in the military, however, the witch hunts didn’t end; in some places they intensified, particularly as gay culture became more mainstream.
It’s hard to say whether DADT did any good. I think it’s conceivable that in creating a gray area where it was “sort of okay” to be gay as long as no one found out, it may have been more damaging to gay service members than a strict anti-gay policy, where at least they would have known what they were up against.
Despite its name, the bill passed today doesn’t so much repeal DADT as remove §654 from Title 10, Chapter 37, of the U.S. Code, which is where the ban on gays in the military lives. With the ban gone, the DADT directive is superfluous.
(Actually, the ban stays in place until 60 days after a report on implementation is produced, and the President, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs certify, based on that report, that military effectiveness won’t be compromised. If you’re a gay service member, don’t come out—yet.)
We can be proud that we’ve grown a bit as a culture since 1993, at least in getting past another of our irrational fears. It makes me feel more than a little old to realize that an entire generation has grown up since 1993. I imagine most of them are wondering what all the fuss is about.