By Jos Truitt • @jostruitt • 13 years ago

Pentagon recommends DADT repeal

Yesterday, on the 17 year anniversary of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell being signed into law, the Pentagon released its study on this controversial and discriminatory policy. The results are pretty clear: over 2/3 of service members believe ending DADT would have a positive, mixed, or no effect.

Further, service members know they are already serving with gay and lesbian soldiers, and the majority don’t have a problem with this. The authors of the study and the joint chiefs are now supportive of repealing DADT. And the study’s authors also recommend removing language from the Uniform Code of Military Justice that bans “consensual sodomy.” The full report can be found here.

The release of this study is the latest step in President Obama’s methodical and formal approach to repealing DADT, which has frustrated a lot of LGBT activists working on this issue. In a statement the president called on Congress to continue this process:

With our nation at war and so many Americans serving on the front lines, our troops and their families deserve the certainty that can only come when an act of Congress ends this discriminatory policy once and for all. The House of Representatives has already passed the necessary legislation. Today I call on the Senate to act as soon as possible so I can sign this repeal into law this year and ensure that Americans who are willing to risk their lives for their country are treated fairly and equally.

Now work to repeal DADT moves to the Senate, and there is a push to have this happen in the lame duck session. Some Republican opposition is still expected, despite the support of the Pentagon.

What are your reactions to the release of this study and the way the process of repealing DADT is proceeding?

Boston, MA

Jos Truitt is Executive Director of Development at Feministing. She joined the team in July 2009, became an Editor in August 2011, and Executive Director in September 2013. She writes about a range of topics including transgender issues, abortion access, and media representation. Jos first got involved with organizing when she led a walk out against the Iraq war at her high school, the Boston Arts Academy. She was introduced to the reproductive justice movement while at Hampshire College, where she organized the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program’s annual reproductive justice conference. She has worked on the National Abortion Federation’s hotline, was a Field Organizer at Choice USA, and has volunteered as a Pro-Choice Clinic Escort. Jos has written for publications including The Guardian, Bilerico, RH Reality Check, Metro Weekly, and the Columbia Journalism Review. She has spoken and trained at numerous national conferences and college campuses about trans issues, reproductive justice, blogging, feminism, and grassroots organizing. Jos completed her MFA in Printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute in Spring 2013. In her "spare time" she likes to bake and work on projects about mermaids.

Jos Truitt is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Development.

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