Today marks the official one-year anniversary of the repeal of the discriminatory law barring gays and lesbians from openly serving in the United States armed services.
The law, known as “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” was the basis for more than 13,000 military discharges from 1993 to 2011. It was signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton and was originally intended to keep the public and private lives of soldiers separate.
President Barack Obama commented today on the one-year anniversary by praising the armed services for adapting to the change in policy. Obama fulfilled a campaign promise by signing repeal into law.
On Sept. 20, the United States military will mark the one-year anniversary of the official repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the 1993 law that barred gays and lesbians from openly serving in the armed services. As the milestone nears, gay military members are thrilled to be able to be out, but note that inequities remain.
“During DADT, I did not ever hang out with other gays or even act on doing anything in fear of being caught so I waited until it was repealed to come out,” said Joshua Gravett, a gay Georgia native and sergeant in the U.S. Army currently stationed in Afghanistan.
Before repeal, Gravett — who enlisted at age 17 — planned to leave the Army. Now, he is considering completing the 20-year military career that would allow him to retire from the service at age 37.
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network hosts Saturday bash
Local groups commemorate, honor America's fallen soldiers
A group of soldiers serving in Afghanistan are lending their voices to the “It Gets Better” project, a viral movement meant to reach out to bullied queer youth.
“It's hard being different when you're young and even when you're old. But once you realize that you have friends that are going to accept you for who you are, and the sooner the accept yourself for who you are, the sooner you'll realize that life gets better,” one female soldier says in the video.
A year ago, these soldiers could have been discharged under the military's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy. The discriminatory law was officially overturned on Sept. 20, 2011. Some 13,000 soldiers were discharged due to their sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation before the law was repealed.
Activists with Atlanta's Occupy movement will occupy the Riverdale home of Brigitte Walker and her partner, Ajai Craig, the group announced this week.
Walker, an Iraq War veteran, is on 90 percent disability stemming from injuries she sustained while serving in the military and is facing foreclosure from her mortgage holder. Organizers say that her fixed income, along with her bank's refusal to negotiate new terms, have put her home “deep into the foreclosure process.”
Occupy Atlanta will host a press conference at Walker and Craig's home later today, organizers said.
Now that gays and lesbians can serve openly in the United States military, the next step in the legal battle is to secure the same partner benefits for married same-sex couples that heterosexual couples enjoy.
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network today filed a federal lawsuit against Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki on behalf of eight former and current active duty soldiers over the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law which prevents the government from recognizing same-sex marriages, even those performed legally in jurisdictions that allow them.
“The plaintiffs, each legally married, want the armed services to recognize their families and seek the same family support and benefits for their same-sex spouses that the services and Department of Veterans Affairs provide to opposite-sex spouses,” SLDN said today via a media release.
Retreat Ceremony tonight at Piedmont Park commemorates end of military gay ban
Sept. 20 marks the end of an era for gay men and lesbians in the U.S. military, and the non-profit Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is trying to prepare gay active duty service members for the historic change.
Since 1993, the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy has banned gay Americans from serving openly in the armed services. The policy will officially end Sept. 20, the day a 60-day review period will have ticked away following certification of military readiness to implement repeal.
Not surprisingly, some organizations, including SLDN, plan to celebrate the end of the 18-year-old ban. Two such events — a Retreat Ceremony on Sept. 19 and Repeal Day Celebration on Sept. 20 — are scheduled for Atlanta.