What Does the "DADT" Repeal Really Mean?

What does the DADT Bill really mean?  Well for those of you who don't know what DADT stands for it means "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".  And it is a bill that was recently passed by the House of Representatives and signed by President Obama.  But what many people don't know is  
that this isn't the first time the issue of LGBTs being in the military has been presented to the government.  Back in 1942 LGBTs were not allowed in the military, which is when they were preparing to go into World War II.  But even before that servicemembers who were gay would be court-martialed, imprisoned, and dishonorably discharged from the military if they were discovered to be gay.  So when former president Bill Clinton tried to overturn the ban of gays in the military members of Congress and the public said no, so DADT was presented as a compromise policy.  Something else people don't know is that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" wasn't the original name of the bill.  It was Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue." The "Don’t Ask" provision mandates that military or appointed officials will not ask about or require members to reveal their sexual orientation.  The "Don’t Tell" states that a member may be discharged for claiming to be a homosexual or bisexual or making a statement indicating a tendency towards or intent to engage in homosexual activities. The "Don’t Pursue" establishes what is minimally required for an investigation to be initiated.  A "Don’t Harass" provision was added to the policy later.  It ensures that the military will not allow harassment or violence against service members for any reason.

And now that we have a new president the ban has been lifted.  And President Obama already said back in 2009 that he wanted to stop this bill because he felt that if someone wanted to serve our country in the military, they shouldn't be discriminated against.


(This video is of President Obama back in January talking about how he wanted to end the don't ask, don't tell policy.)

Now, finally, the president and many others are getting their wish, because the repeal has passed. 

( This video is of the Senate passing the Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal.)

And the president has even said he will do everything in his power to try and get this bill implemented has soon as possible soon that troops can serve as being openly gay.  And that they will not be treated any different from anyone else in the military.

( President Obama is giving a speech about how troops can serve openly gay now and how he would like to have this bill in effect as soon as possible.)



(President Obama signing DADT repeal.)


How this story relates to class:
This story relates to class because at the beginning of the year we talked about how people have civil rights and how they should not be discriminated against.  And because the DADT bill has now been repealed people can now serve our country without being discriminated against because of who they are.  Like when blacks couldn't go to certain places because of their color, they were then being discriminated against because of who they were.  So in away these to things are kind of the same.