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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. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service. This relaxation of legal restrictions on service by gays and lesbians in the armed forces was mandated by Public Law 103–160, which was signed November 30, 1993. The policy prohibited people who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the armed forces of the United States, because their presence "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability".
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) personnel are able to serve in the armed forces of some countries around the world: the vast majority of industrialized, Western countries including some South American countries, such as Argentina, Brazil and Chile in addition to other countries, such as the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Mexico, France, Finland, Denmark and Israel. The rights concerning intersex people are more vague.
Darren Manzella was a United States Army Sergeant, Army medic and gay activist from Portland, New York, who was discharged under the Don't ask, don't tell policy. Manzella served in Iraq and Kuwait, and was stationed in Fort Hood, Texas.
Alan Greg Rogers was an ordained pastor, a U.S. Army major and intelligence officer, a civil rights activist in the gay, lesbian and bisexual military community and the first-known gay combat fatality of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The subsequent coverage of his death in the media sparked a debate over the effect of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy and what information should be included in the biography of a gay military person killed in action.
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The United States military formerly excluded gay men, bisexuals, and lesbians from service. In 1993, the United States Congress passed, and President Bill Clinton signed, a law instituting the policy commonly referred to as "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT), which allowed gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve as long as they did not reveal their sexual orientation. Although there were isolated instances in which service personnel were met with limited success through lawsuits, efforts to end the ban on openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual people serving either legislatively or through the courts initially proved unsuccessful.
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Allyson Dylan Robinson is an American human rights activist, specializing in LGBT rights in the United States. She attended West Point before gender reassignment, graduated in 1994 majoring in her undergraduate degree in physics, and was then commissioned as an officer serving in the U.S. Army until 1999. She held the rank of captain. Also prior to transition, she became an ordained Baptist minister, earning from the Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity (M.Div.).
The American Military Partner Association (AMPA) was a non-profit organization for the partners, spouses, and families of America's LGBT service members and veterans.
Brenda S. "Sue" Fulton is a former American government official and former military officer who has served as the assistant secretary of veterans affairs for public and intergovernmental affairs in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. She commissioned in the United States Army as a signal officer, serving as both a platoon leader and company commander in Germany before receiving an honorable discharge at the rank of captain.
References
- ↑ Lubischer, Alex. "WINDY CITY TIMES OutServe onward: LGBT military group gains ground". Windy City Times. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ↑ O'Keefe, Ed. "Gay military magazine to be distributed at Army, Air Force bases". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ↑ Cheney, Catherine. "End of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell': Gay US Soldiers Come Out in New Magazine". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ↑ "Magazine launch for gay military members announced". CNN. March 28, 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ↑ Bradley Blackburn (March 28, 2011). "OutServe Magazine Launched for Active-Duty Gay and Lesbian Troops". ABC News. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ↑ Brian Witte, The Associated Press (28 March 2011). "Military gay support group launches magazine". Military Times. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ↑ "OutServe Magazine: About Us". OutServe Magazine. January 1, 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ↑ Lubischer, Alex. "WINDY CITY TIMES OutServe onward: LGBT military group gains ground". Windy City Times. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ↑ Aravosis, John (July 12, 2013). "OutServe-SLDN closes headquarters, reveals organization is bankrupt". Americablog. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
- ↑ Ed O'Keefe (30 August 2011). "Gay military magazine to be distributed at Army, Air Force bases". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
