On September 20, 2011, the military policy Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) became history as new policies began worldwide that allows soldiers and other servicemembers who identify as GLBT to be out at work. Signed by President Clinton 17 years go, DADT was intended to be a compromise to the prior black and white policy of no tolerance for GLBT. For those serving, and often being persecuted by fellow soldiers who would turn them in, DADT felt like a capitulation by a president known for compromising.  More servicemembers were discharged yearly under DADT than under the prior policy.

Now the question can be asked, what does this new state of the military mean to me?  Here is a brief synopsis of the freedoms the GLBT community now have:

• Anyone from the GLBT community is free to enlist, as long as they meet the long list of qualifications that range from physically fit to mentally sound.
• Active servicemembers in the U.S. Military can now be truthful about their orientation, at their own pace and if they want to. No prosecutions will take place going forward.
• Former serving personnel who are GLBT can reenlist as long as they still meet the enlisting qualifications and if they were discharged only under the DADT policy, and nothing else.

Currently in flux are two main issues: benefits for GLBT service members (and their partners and families) and the right to sue for wrongful military discharge in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The former issue is being affected by the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA clearly prevents the military branches from recognizing marriages between same-sex partners.  Registrations and Civil Unions are not recognized because they’re not marriage, which is the ticket to many benefits, such as on-post housing or housing allowances, military pension benefits and partner/spouse (and often children too) access to health care. The denial of these and other benefits is especially visible in the military when troops serve in close teams and see and hear very clearly what benefits their heterosexual colleagues are receiving.

The reason the latter issue is important is that the current repeal of the ban could be short-lived. There is nothing preventing a new president or Congress from reenacting DADT or even a complete ban. The only way to be certain about that is to get a ruling that DADT (and any ban) is unconstitutional. The Log Cabin Republicans had a case in the 9^th Circuit seeking such a ruling, but the issue was deemed “moot” due to the repeal. In other words, until banning gay people from serving in the military is ruled unconstitutional, uncertainty remains. For those who come out of the closet in the meantime, the risk is serious. Further, it is unclear whether servicemembers discharged under DADT will have their military records cleared.  It is fairly certain at this point that they will not be compensated for the losses they incurred as a result of being wrongfully discharged.

For more information on this issue or to keep up with the latest developments, follow any of the links below. Contact Beth Allen Law if you have further questions or concerns.

Resource Links:

• http://outserve.org/
• http://www.servicemembers.org/
• http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/09/30/mm-gay-servicemembers-demand-greater-equality/
• http://www.sldn.org/blog/archives/Making-Sense-Ninth-Circuit-Decision/

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 11th, 2011 at 3:22 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.