| − | '''Don't ask, don't tell''' (Pub.L. 103-160 (10 U.S.C. § 654)) is the common name given to the law passed by Congress and signed early in the first term of President [[Bill Clinton]] to prohibit openly homosexual soldiers from serving the military. It was repeatedly challenged, and repeatedly upheld, in the court system, but its repeal has been a goal of the [[homosexual agenda]] for nearly two decades. | + | '''Don't ask, don't tell''' (Pub.L. 103-160 (10 U.S.C. § 654)) is the common name given to the law passed by Congress and signed by President [[Bill Clinton]] in 1993 to prohibit openly homosexual soldiers from serving the military. It was repeatedly challenged, and repeatedly upheld, in the court system, but its repeal has been a goal of the [[homosexual agenda]] for nearly two decades. |
| | The premise of the policy is that a gay person will not be dismissed from active duty if he does not bring up his sexuality. At the same time, the military is legally enjoined from "asking" about a soldier's sexuality, or (in the oft forgotten third part of the phrase, "don't pursue") to investigate rumors of a soldier's sexuality. However, if a soldier does "come out," or if, without investigation, evidence is found of a soldier's sexuality, that soldier can be and generally is dismissed from active duty. This policy also changed the dismissal from "Dishonorably discharged", to "Honorably discharged" or simply "discharged" as the situation warrants, depending on the merits of the soldier's service. | | The premise of the policy is that a gay person will not be dismissed from active duty if he does not bring up his sexuality. At the same time, the military is legally enjoined from "asking" about a soldier's sexuality, or (in the oft forgotten third part of the phrase, "don't pursue") to investigate rumors of a soldier's sexuality. However, if a soldier does "come out," or if, without investigation, evidence is found of a soldier's sexuality, that soldier can be and generally is dismissed from active duty. This policy also changed the dismissal from "Dishonorably discharged", to "Honorably discharged" or simply "discharged" as the situation warrants, depending on the merits of the soldier's service. |