Barack Obama welcomes repeal of 18-year 'don't ask, don't tell' policy
as gay lobby groups across US celebrate
Karen McVeigh and Paul Harris in New York
Wednesday September 21 2011
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/20/us-military-lifts-ban-gay-troops
Don't Ask, Don't Tell - the US military's 18-year ban on openly gay
and lesbian service personnel ? has officially been repealed, ushering
in a new era for the country's armed forces.
In a statement President Barack Obama welcomed the end of a policy
that he said had forced gay and lesbian members to "lie about who they
are".
The repeal, which took effect from midnight on Tuesday, was celebrated
as "momentous news" by gay lobby groups across the US, who have long
fought against the policy, and among the military's estimated 65,000
serving gay and lesbian servicemen and women.
Obama said he was confident that lifting the ban would enhance
national security. Previously, serving gay and lesbians who did not
keep their sexuality a secret faced being discharged from the
military. Opponents had argued that allowing openly gay troops to
serve would hamper military effectiveness.
"As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to
lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love," Obama
said in a statement. "As of today, our armed forces will no longer
lose the extraordinary skills and combat experience of so many gay and
lesbian service members.
"Today, every American can be proud that we have taken another great
step toward keeping our military the finest in the world and toward
fulfilling our nation's founding ideals."
Last December, the president signed legislation to repeal the Don't
Ask Don't Tell policy (DADT), which had been passed by congress and
signed into law in 1993 under then-President Bill Clinton.
Obama paid tribute to gay and lesbian troops who had been discharged
as a result of the policy, and to those who had lost their lives to
serve their country.
More than 14,500 US service personnel have been thrown out of military
service since the DADT policy took effect, according to the non-profit
watchdog and lobby group, the Servicemembers Legal DefenseDefence
Network.
In a memo, the Pentagon said that the policy would not harm military
readiness, unit cohesion or recruiting and retaining members.
"Effective today, statements about sexual orientation or lawful acts
of homosexual conduct will not be considered as a bar to military
service," said Clifford Stanley, the US under secretary of defence for
personnel and readiness. Nor would they prevent admission military
academies and other programs.
"All service members are to treat one another with dignity and
respect, regardless of sexual orientation," he said, warning that
"harassment or abuse based on sexual orientation" would not be
tolerated in the military.
The Pentagon said recruiters are now accepting applications from
openly gay people.
In a statement, the US army said: "From this day forward, gay and
lesbian soldiers may serve in our army with the dignity and respect
they deserve."
At one minute past midnight on Tuesday, Stanley put out a statement
from the Pentagon to the work force.
"The department of defense is committed to promoting an environment
free from personal, social or institutional barriers that prevent
service members from rising to the highest level of responsibility
possible regardless of sexual orientation."
Across the US, groups that have long lobbied for the change welcomed
the news.
Mike Thompson, of the media monitoring group Gay and Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation, said: "Today, America took a momentous step
forward in the pursuit of full equality by fully repealing 'Don't Ask,
Don't Tell' and opening its military to every brave man and woman
willing to serve, whether straight or gay."
He said: "The courage, perseverance and patriotism displayed by the
American military shines even more brightly today as our nation
strengthens its national security and takes a firm stand against
discrimination in our armed forces."
Mike Breen, a former army captain and vice president of the Truman
National Security Project, a security thinktank, said he was
"overjoyed" that the policy is over.
"It is long overdue and has no place in a military at war time."
Breen, who led a group of paratroopers in the Korengal and Pech
valleys in Afghanistan, often in support of special forces, has first-
hand experience of how DADT robbed the military of first-rate
soldiers.
A section leader under his command in Afghanistan, whom he recommended
and who was later awarded a Bronze Star for heroism, had left the
military because of the policy, he said.
"When a helicopter crashed, he tackled a young private in his charge,
shielding him with his body. He showed the sort of leadership we tend
to lionise in the military. He loved being a soldier, but he left in
part because he wanted a personal life."
Many campaigners paid tribute to those who have suffered as a result
of the policy.
Lieutenant Daniel Choi is a former US officer and now rights
campaigner who was kicked out of the army for being gay after serving
in Iraq in 2007.
He said: "This is not a moment when I have been out chugging beers.
There are still a lot of unknowns for us who want to go back. I also
think this is a moment when I remember those who were kicked out and
even those who committed suicide after they were kicked out ? this is
still just the beginning."
The US defence department will now publish revised regulations to
reflect the new policy.
The lifting of the ban also brings a halt to all pending
investigations, discharges and other administrative proceedings that
were begun under the law.
Marine Corps veteran Corporal Evelyn Thomas, a lesbian who was
discharged after four years of service, said: "It is remarkable. It is
wonderful that this time has come."
In 2009, Thomas founded The Sanctuary Project Veterans, which aims to
look after the concerns of those affected by the now repealed law.
She said: "When I was in the military, I had to serve in secret. I had
to compromise my integrity."
However, like other gay rights advocates, she said the repeal of DADT
was just part of a wider battle. She said many gay veterans discharged
under DADT were often told ? wrongly ? that they were not eligible for
full healthcare benefits through the US department of veterans'
affairs.
Thomas said that her organisation would now put advocacy on this issue
at the forefront of its mission.
"There are a lot of veterans who are eligible for these benefits, but
they don't know about it. We are going to educate lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender veterans," she said.
guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2011
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