Two years ago today, on September 20, 2011, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was officially repealed. The discriminatory and stigmatizing 1994 policy that barred lesbian, gay, and bisexual servicemembers from serving openly in the military has had a damaging impact on the strength of the armed forces during one of the most dangerous military times in a generation. As a result of DADT, more than 13,500 women and men were discharged from the military because of their sexual...
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DADT
By Huong T. Nguyen NCLR Guest Columnist Saturday, December 18, 2010. It’s 8:30 a.m., and I am still in bed. I hear footsteps hurriedly coming up the stairs. My bedroom door slams open, and a big mass lands on my body. Thromp! I open one eye and see my earnest 5-year-old son, Rowan, staring intently down at me. He whispers, “Mommy, wake up, they are voting to move the bill. ~~~ It’s only been three hours since I succumbed to sleep. I was keeping a vigil. I had a crazy idea that the repeal of...
(San Francisco, CA, December 7, 2011)—The case was brought by a woman, known as S.Y., who raised two children with her former same-sex partner. The children were legally adopted only by S.Y.’s partner, S.B. S.Y. did not adopt the children, primarily because she was in the military and could have been discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” if the military learned about her family. The Court of Appeal, applying longstanding California law, ruled last week that S.Y. should be recognized as a...
Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, September 20, 2011)—Today, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”—the discriminatory nearly two-decade old policy that bars lesbian, gay, and bisexual people from serving openly in the military—is officially over. In July 2011, President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen certified that the military was prepared for the implementation of repeal,...
Tomorrow, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the discriminatory nearly two-decade old policy that bars lesbian, gay, and bisexual people from serving openly in the military, will officially be repealed tomorrow. Watch this video for my take on this historic day. Then, read the blog entry by Huong Nguyen, who last year chronicled her personal story about how “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” changed the course of her life. And you don’t want to miss NCLR Federal Policy Director Maya...
By Huong T. Nguyen NCLR Guest Columnist At the beginning of this school year, Rowan, my 6-year-old son, held court in his first-grade class about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). The unprompted conversation with his classmates went something like this: Rowan: My mom was in the military. Classmates: Really? Rowan: Yeah, but she was kicked out because she was gay. (His peers gathered around to hear his tale.) One classmate: No, I don’t believe you! Rowan: No, really, I saw her uniform! In the...
Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, July 22, 2011)—Today, President Barack Obama, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen notified Congress that the military is ready to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the discriminatory two-decade old policy that bars lesbian, gay, and bisexual people from serving openly in the military. Under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal Act passed by...
Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, July 6, 2011)—Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that halts enforcement of the U.S. military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy. The ruling lifts a stay that had previously been put in place, allowing U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips’s October 2010 ruling prohibiting enforcement of DADT to take effect immediately. The Ninth Circuit found that “the circumstances and balance of...
Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell (San Francisco, CA, December 18, 2010)—Today, the U.S. Senate voted to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the discriminatory 17-year-old policy that bars lesbian, gay, and bisexual people from serving openly in the military. The House approved the measure on Wednesday, December 15. With the Senate’s 65 to 31 vote today, the bill now goes to President Barack Obama, who campaigned on the promise that he would work with Congress to repeal the policy....
By Huong T. Nguyen NCLR Guest Columnist Year: 2010 The girl became my wife. Sixteen years after we first met, Alison and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and are proud parents of two wonderful boys. Two years ago, we were legally married in her parents’ backyard, surrounded by our closest friends and family. We had the unique joy of sharing that milestone with our children. ~~~ In 1997, the military discharged me without any characterization—meaning, neither honorable nor dishonorable....
