'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repealed

The controversial ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ rule (or DADT, as it became known) has finally been repealed after 18 years. The law prevented serving  gay US military personnel from disclosing their sexuality and stopped their commanders from asking.

It has been estimated that since the law's introduction under President Clinton, 13,000 gay men and lesbians have been discharged after their sexual orientation was revealed, sometimes on the basis of testimony from someone with a personal grievance.

Polls have shown that about two-thirds of all military personnel and the same proportion of all Americans believe gay men and lesbians should be able to be open about their sexuality and serve in the armed forces.

Barack Obama had pledged to overturn DADT during his 2008 election campaign. Some in Congress still oppose the change, but top Pentagon leaders have stated that it will not undermine the military's ability to recruit or to fight wars.

Service members who were discharged under the DADT  law will be allowed to re-enlist, but their applications will not be given priority over those of any others with prior military experience who are seeking to re-enlist.