President Obama signs ‘DADT’ bill into law on Wednesday

New policy will take several months to implement

For Lt. Dan Choi, Capt. Jim Pietrangelo, Cadet Mara Boyd, Petty Officer Autumn Sandeen and the 13,389 other people who have lost their jobs in the United States Armed Services, it’s too late, but no longer will a man or woman be kicked out of the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines for being openly gay or lesbian.

The United States Senate voted Dec. 18 to repeal, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a 17- year policy that banned gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. The same legislation had previously passed in the House of Representatives. With the help of eight Republicans, senators voted down the policy by a vote of 65-31.

“As a lesbian who left the U.S. Air Force Academy in the midst of anti-gay witch hunts in the mid-’80s, the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is particularly personal,” said Nadine Smith, executive director for Equality Florida. “We commend the US Senate and our own Sen. Bill Nelson for today’s passage of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal measure. I look forward to the not-too-distant day when open service is the law of our nation.”

Florida’s other senator, Republican George LeMieux, voted against the repeal. President Barack Obama had made it a campaign promise to repeal DADT, but many gay activists feared that he was dragging his feet this year and the repeal would not happen once a more conservative Congress took over next year. The president officially signed the bill into law on Wednesday.

“By ending ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay,” Obama said. “And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love.”

Once the bill is signed into law, the president, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen will then need to certify that the repeal should be implemented. Even then, a 60-day waiting period will need to pass before DADT is truly repealed.

“I welcome today’s vote by the Senate clearing the way for a legislative repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law,” Gates said. “Successful implementation will depend upon strong leadership, a clear message and proactive education throughout the force. With a continued and sustained commitment to core values of leadership, professionalism and respect for all, I am convinced that the U.S. military can successfully accommodate and implement this change, as it has others in history.”

While some elected officials and military personnel objected to repealing the policy while America is still in the middle of two wars, public opinion was high in favor of the LGBT community’s quest. According to a December 2010 Washington Post-ABC News poll, 77 percent of Americans say gays and lesbians who publicly disclose their sexual orientation should be able to serve in the military. Even a Defense Department study of more than 115,000 military personnel reported that 70 percent said ending the ban on gays serving openly would have a positive or neutral impact on troops.

Many local and national LGBT groups had recently ramped up efforts to draw attention to the issue in front of the media and all Americans. One group that took matters particularly into their own hands was GetEqual. They used civil disobedience, including dozens of arrests of many of their members all over the country, to try and get their repeal point across.

“We are thrilled today that the Senate has taken one more step toward full legal equality for all Americans,” said GetEqual Co-Founder Robin McGhee. “Today’s vote is one more step forward in not only retiring this discriminatory policy, but also in the larger march toward equality and justice for LGBT Americans. While today’s vote doesn’t yet finalize repeal, and while the legislation is far from perfect – leaving our transgender sisters and brothers in the grip of discrimination – we are happy to have finally moved past this hurdle. Though we have many other hurdles ahead of us to truly and fully end military discrimination for the entire LGBT community, we look forward to the fight ahead to repeal this policy once and for all.”