More on DADT repeal: It ain’t over yet.

As we posted yesterday, the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is now in the works, which we know will be a significant step forward after the horrendous 17 years this policy has been in place. But there’s a reason it was called a compromise. Autumn at Pam’s House Blend explains:

This compromise worked out by the White House, members of Congress, and Gay Inc., doesn’t actually guarantee that lesbian, gay, and bisexual people will ever be able to openly serve in the U.S. Military. Instead, it gives we in the LGBT community a promise of process to repeal of DADT without a guarantee it actually will ever result in LGB servicemembers being able to serve openly. And to quote Cpl. Evelyn Thomas, Lt. Dan Choi, and the GetEQUAL crew:
[T]hat’s not good enough.

Approximate transcript after the jump
Additionally, there are several steps that have to be taken not only before the repeal is fully approved, but also regarding when policy will actually be changed. Firstly, Congress must vote on the repeal, which is not going to be as easy as pie. Steve Benen notes that some of the moderate Dems on the Senate Armed Services Committee are iffy (which will likely be voting on the repeal tomorrow). Additionally, the repeal will be attached the defense appropriations bill, which may be voted against down the line even if the amendment is okayed.
Secondly, the Pentagon will have until December to review and approve the repeal. So while the repeal may be on the books, there’s a good chance the policy won’t be changed until the end of the year. As Matt says, “Essentially, Congress will simply give back authority to the President to set the policy on gays in the military — and only after a sort of 6-8 month waiting period. ”
So should we be optimistic that this is moving forward? Absolutely. There’s no doubt this is serious progression from where we were. But with nearly 80% of the country supporting the repeal, it’s frustrating that we still have quite a ways to go — not only before the repeal is a reality, but before open servicemembers are fully protected from discrimination.


There’s been a lot of commotion today about this compromise on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Spoken a lot of words. But with all that we’re talking about, nobody has answered the very simple question: When? When are soldiers finally going to be able to tell the truth about who they are. When will we have to stop shoving our loved ones into the closet and into non-existence. When are people going to stop getting fired for accessing their own integrity? How long do we have to keep studying whether injustice and discrimination are compatible with military values or with American values? When? And nobody seems to be answering that question.
So this compromise that everybody’s been talking about and saying it’s a step in the right direction, I want to explain: It does not offer the full repeal. It is a delay. The reason why is full repeal requires, number one: Congress to repeal the law. And number two: the Pentagon to enact nondiscrimination policies. President Obama has offered the first and kicked the can down the road on the second. But we know as an LGBT community, we have stood up throughout this past year with our actions and our demands, we have been contacting our legislators, demanding from our elected officials, marching on Washington, getting arrested, and we will continue doing that because right now is not a time for celebration or relaxation. People are still going to get fired from the military. We call on President Obama to finally take action and stop the firings and to enact nondiscrimination. As long as the firings don’t stop, we cannot stop.
Ever since I put on this uniform for the very first time, raised by hand committing to the seven values: to integrity, honor, service, courage, I realized by commitment had to be uncompromised, and refused to compromise any of those values so long as any soldier has to compromise his or her integrity, I cannot rest. I cannot celebrate.

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