Gays Can Now Serve Openly in the US Military

From the archive: first published September 20, 2011.

After years of debate and months of final preparations, the US military could no longer prevent gay and lesbian service members from serving openly. The repeal of the 1993 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law — which had allowed gays to serve only so long as they kept their sexual orientation private — took effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 20, 2011.

Top Pentagon leaders, including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, had certified that the change would not undermine recruiting or war-fighting ability. The Army circulated a plain "the law is repealed" notice reminding soldiers to treat each other fairly. Pentagon officials said 97 percent of the military had completed training on the new policy.

The change was sweeping and immediate:

• All pending investigations, discharges, and administrative proceedings begun under the old law were halted.
• The services, which had been accepting applications from openly gay recruits for weeks, could now process them.
• Service members discharged under the old policy were allowed to re-enlist, though without priority over others.
• Standards of personal conduct — on public displays of affection and the like — continued to apply regardless of orientation.
• There were no immediate changes to benefits eligibility, and the Pentagon was still reviewing the question of same-sex ceremonies by military chaplains.

Gay advocacy groups planned celebrations across the country. Supporters in Congress, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, called the repeal overdue. Some opponents in Congress remained opposed, arguing it could undermine order and discipline.

Eighteen years after the Clinton-era compromise, the compromise was gone.