Repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

In his State of the Union address, President Obama reiterated his commitment to repealing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law in the coming year, because “It’s the right thing to do.” Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who was first appointed by President George W. Bush, echoed that sentiment in his testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, adding, “No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, personally, it comes down to integrity—theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.”¹ Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was also appointed by President Bush, has definitively stated that the law should be repealed and has now put in place a process to determine how to best implement that change. We agree with the Commander in Chief and Pentagon leadership that repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is the right thing for our military and our country, and this memo lays out a framework for discussing the issue while appealing to moderates and Independents.

Then vs. Now

Our country has changed dramatically since Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was enacted, and the law has become a relic of the past.

Public Opinion and Public Policy

In 1993, when the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law was enacted, only 23% of Americans knew an openly gay person²—now, three-fourths of the country does.³ At the time the law was passed, no state provided any kind of legal recognition for gay and lesbian couples, and only a handful protected employees from being fired from their job because they were gay. Now, five states recognize marriages between gay and lesbian couples and nine others provide legal recognition to those couples, and 21 states have made it illegal to fire someone for being gay. And while in 1993 only 44% of Americans supported allowing gay and lesbian people to serve openly in the military, now three-fourths of the country holds that view, including 77% of Independents and 64% of Republicans.⁴

Views of the Troops

Attitudes towards Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell among the military have changed significantly as well. Seventy-three percent of troops who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan say they are personally comfortable in the presence of gay and lesbian people, and 45% say they suspect that they had already served or were currently serving with a gay person in their unit.⁵ Only 37% disagreed with the idea of allowing gay and lesbian people to serve openly in the military—most (58%) were either neutral on the subject (32%) or agreed with allowing open service (26%).⁶ Only one in ten said they would have reconsidered their decision to join the military if gay and lesbian people were allowed to serve openly. This is significantly different than in 1993, when military surveys showed that about three-fourths of men and half of women in the service were opposed to the presence of gay people openly serving.⁷

Positions of the Brass

In 1993, the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law was overwhelmingly supported by military leadership. And even a few years ago, while serving as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace urged Congress not to change the law, because, “We should not condone immoral acts.”⁸

By contrast, both Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, have now testified in full-throated support of repealing the law, saying in a recent congressional hearing that repeal is “the right thing to do” and the question “is not whether the military prepares to make this change, but how we best prepare for it.”⁹

Rhetoric of Opponents

When the law was enacted—as a compromise following President Clinton’s pledge to allow gay and lesbian people to serve their country as uniformed members of the military—Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle warned that allowing gay soldiers to serve openly would bring about the destruction of the American military. They held hearings on submarines, displayed grainy pictures of male soldiers sleeping together in a single bunk, and raised the specter of our troops being assaulted in the shower.

But today, opponents have abandoned their doomsday scenarios and resorted to simply pleading “not right now.” House Minority Leader Representative John Boehner says, “In the middle of two wars and in the middle of this giant security threat, why would we want to get into this debate?”¹⁰ And Senator Jeff Sessions merely says, “I think we need an open and objective and a fair evaluation of this. …I think that’s healthy.”¹¹ This stark change in tone demonstrates that even opponents of repeal realize times have changed and this issue is no longer politically radioactive.

Recommended Message

I stand with our military and support the repeal of a policy that denies qualified, patriotic and courageous Americans the privilege of serving this country. Repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell would put the focus back where it belongs: on the mission, not an individual’s personal life.

Key Arguments for Moderates and Independents

• There are already an estimated 66,000 gay and lesbian people serving in our military.¹² Repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell would not change the composition of our Armed Forces—it would merely allow those troops to continue to do their jobs well without worrying about being fired or blackmailed because someone found out about their personal life.
• Many prominent military leaders support repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Shalikashvili has said, “As a nation built on the principal of equality, we should recognize and welcome change that will build a stronger more cohesive military. It is time to repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and allow our military leaders to create policy that holds our service members to a single standard of conduct and discipline.”¹³ Colin Powell, who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs when Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was implemented, has said it is time to overturn the law. “If the chiefs and commanders are comfortable with moving to change the policy, then I support it.”¹⁴
• In addition to the many military voices that support repealing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law, civilian leaders with unquestionable conservative credentials have also called for repeal. Senator Barry Goldwater famously said, “You don't need to be 'straight' to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight.”¹⁵ And Vice President Dick Cheney recently observed, “I'm reluctant to second-guess the military in this regard. When the chiefs come forward and say, ‘We think we can do it,’ then it strikes me that it's time to reconsider the policy.”¹⁶
• Our military is the most disciplined and professional in the world. Those who say that our troops can’t handle a change in the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law, or predict that they will react violently or insubordinately to such a change, are not giving our military professionals enough credit. When Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed, our troops will react as they normally do to policy changes by their superiors—they will follow orders and continue to do their jobs in an orderly and respectful way.
• The original rationale behind the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law is no longer applicable. Many of our troops already serve side-by-side with openly gay and lesbian people, whether in missions with coalition forces from other countries, or with defense contractors who hire the best people for the job without regard to sexual orientation. And among soldiers who knew that they had served with a gay or lesbian person, 72% reported that their presence had no impact (66%) or a positive impact (6%) on overall unit morale.¹⁷ A recent study in Joint Forces Quarterly, a publication for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, concluded that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell “is ultimately more damaging to the unit cohesion its stated purpose is to preserve.”¹⁸ Admiral Mullen himself said he has knowingly served with gay troops since 1968, and that his experiences helped to convince him that the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law should be repealed.¹⁹
• On average, our military spends between $22,000 and $43,000 to replace each person discharged under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law.²⁰ A 2006 Blue Ribbon Commission report estimated that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell had already cost the nation over $360 million in administrative costs and lost training hours.²¹ As we continue to fight two wars in the midst of an economic crisis, our military should not shoulder the administrative or financial burden of dismissing soldiers who are doing their jobs well.

Messages to Avoid

• Don’t frame support for repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell as vindicating gay and lesbian people’s “right to serve”—Americans do not see military service as a right.
• Don’t argue about whether Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was ever the right policy—it is not necessary to refight the battles of 1993 to secure repeal today.
• Don’t focus on the stories of gay and lesbian soldiers who have been discharged after personally publicly disclosing their sexual orientation—they are less convincing as spokespeople because they knowingly broke the current rules of the military.