“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) was the policy enacted in November 1993 to address gays and lesbians in the U.S. military. Technically, the law is Title 10, section 654, of the U.S. Code “Policy Concerning Homosexuality in the Armed Forces,” but it is commonly referred to as DADT. (Title 10 of the U.S. Code provides the legal framework for all aspects of the military. A subset of Title 10 is the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which regulates the behavior of service members.) DADT represents a policy compromise between President Bill Clinton and a recalcitrant Congress and military leadership. It was supposed to separate out a person’s behavior rather than personality. Specifically, soldiers can be homosexuals so long as they don’t engage in homosexual activity. ...