Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010

Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010

Enacted by	the 111th United States Congress
Effective	September 20, 2011
Citations
Public law	111–321
Statutes at Large	124 Stat. 3515, 3516 and 3517
Legislative history
Introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 2965 by Rep. Jason Altmire on December 14, 2010 Committee consideration by Committee on Science and Technology (Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation) Committee on Small Business Passed the House on December 15, 2010 (Yeas: 250; Nays: 175) Passed the Senate on December 18, 2010 (Yeas: 65; Nays: 31) Signed into law by President Obama on December 22, 2010[1][2]

The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (H.R. 2965, S. 4023) is a landmark United States federal statute enacted in December 2010 that established a process for ending the Don't ask, don't tell (DADT) policy (10 U.S.C. § 654), thus allowing gays, lesbians, and bisexuals to serve openly in the United States Armed Forces. It ended the policy in place since 1993 that allowed them to serve only if they kept their sexual orientation secret and the military did not learn of their sexual orientation.

The Act established a process for ending the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. According to the Congressional Research Service, the Act:^[3]

Provided for repeal of the current Department of Defense (DOD) policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces, to be effective 60 days after the Secretary of Defense has received DOD's comprehensive review on the implementation of such repeal, and the President, Secretary, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) certify to the congressional defense committees that they have considered the report and proposed plan of action, that DOD has prepared the necessary policies and regulations to exercise the discretion provided by such repeal, and that implementation of such policies and regulations is consistent with the standards of military readiness and effectiveness, unit cohesion, and military recruiting and retention.

The Act did not ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the military, as provided for in the proposed Military Readiness Enhancement Act.

President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen provided the certification required by the Act to Congress on July 22, 2011. Implementation of repeal was completed 60 days later, so that DADT was no longer policy as of September 20, 2011.

Background

DADT was controversial from the time it was implemented, but it became increasingly a matter of public debate after 2004. In July 2004 the American Psychological Association issued a statement that "Empirical evidence fails to show that sexual orientation is germane to any aspect of military effectiveness including unit cohesion, morale, recruitment and retention."^[4] In February 2005, the Government Accountability Office reported that DADT cost at least $95.4 million for recruiting and at least $95.1 million for training replacements for the 9,488 troops discharged from 1994 through 2003.^[5] In December 2006, Zogby International reported that a poll of military personnel conducted in October 2006 found that 26% favored allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, 37% were opposed, while 37% expressed no preference or were unsure.^[6] At a February 2, 2010 congressional hearing, Senator John McCain read from a letter signed by "over one thousand former general and flag officers". It said: "We firmly believe that this law, which Congress passed to protect good order, discipline and morale in the unique environment of the armed forces, deserves continued support."^[7]

Legislative history

The Democratic leadership in both the House and Senate tried to end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy with an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill. On May 27, 2010, on a 234–194 vote,^[8] the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Murphy amendment^[9] to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011. It provided for repeal of the DADT policy and created a process for lifting the policy, including a U.S. Department of Defense study and certification by key officials that the change in policy would not harm military effectiveness, followed by a waiting period of 60 days.^[10][11] On the same day the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on a 16–12 vote advanced an identical measure to be included in the Defense Authorization Act.^[10] The amended defense bill passed the House on May 28, 2010.^[12] On September 21, 2010, John McCain led a successful (56 in favor, 43 opposed) filibuster against the debate on the Defense Authorization Act.^[13]

Obama meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the eve of publication of a Defense Department report on repeal of DADT.

On November 30, 2010, the Department of Defense's Comprehensive Review Working Group (CRWG) on DADT repeal issued its formal report outlining a path to the implementation of repeal of DADT.^[14] The report indicated that there was low risk of service disruptions because of repeal of the ban.^[15] Gates encouraged Congress to act quickly to repeal the law so that the military could carefully adjust rather than face a court decision requiring it to lift the policy immediately.^[15] The United States Senate held two days of hearings on December 2 and 3, 2010, to consider the CRWG report. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen urged immediate repeal. The heads of the Marine Corps, Army, and Navy all advised against immediate repeal and expressed varied views on its eventual repeal.^[16]

Democrats in Congress quickly scheduled hearings to consider repeal of the law.^[17] On December 3, the Joint Chiefs of Staff appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee to testify about repeal.^[18] While the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Naval Operations, and Commandant of the Coast Guard said repeal would cause minimal disruption, heads of the Army, Air Force, and Marines opposed repeal because it would cause additional stress on combat focused forces during war.^[18]

On December 9, 2010, another filibuster prevented debate on the Defense Authorization Act during the lame duck session of Congress.^[19]

On December 9, 2010, in reaction to the failure to open discussion on the Defense Authorization Act, Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins introduced a bill that included the policy-related portions of the Defense Authorization Act that they considered more likely to pass as a stand-alone bill. The Washington Post compared it to a Hail Mary pass.^[20][21] The stand-alone bill was sponsored by Patrick Murphy and passed the House on a vote of 250 to 175 on December 15, 2010.^[22][23]

Obama signs the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010

On December 18, 2010, the Senate voted to end debate on its version of the bill by a cloture vote of 63–33.^[24] Prior to the vote, Sen. Lieberman gave the final argument in favor of repealing DADT and Sen. McCain argued against repeal. The final Senate vote was held later that same day, with the measure passing by a vote of 65–31.^[25]

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates released a statement following the vote indicating that the planning for implementation of a policy repeal would begin right away, led by Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Clifford L. Stanley, and would continue until Gates certified that conditions were met for orderly repeal of the policy.^[26] President Barack Obama signed the bill into law on December 22, 2010.^[1][2]

Senate roll call

House vote by congressional district.

  Democratic yea

  Democratic nay

  Republican yea

  Republican nay

  Absent or no representative seated

Senate vote by state.

  Both yes

  One yes, one didn't vote

  One yes, one no

  One no, one didn't vote

  Both no

State	Senator	Party	Vote on Cloture[27]	Vote on Repeal[28]
Hawaii	Akaka, DanielDaniel Akaka	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Tennessee	Alexander, LamarLamar Alexander	Republican	No	No
Wyoming	Barrasso, JohnJohn Barrasso	Republican	No	No
Montana	Baucus, MaxMax Baucus	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Indiana	Bayh, EvanEvan Bayh	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Alaska	Begich, MarkMark Begich	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Colorado	Bennet, MichaelMichael Bennet	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Utah	Bennett, RobertRobert Bennett	Republican	No	No
New Mexico	Bingaman, JeffJeff Bingaman	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Missouri	Bond, KitKit Bond	Republican	No	No
California	Boxer, BarbaraBarbara Boxer	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Ohio	Brown, SherrodSherrod Brown	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Massachusetts	Brown, ScottScott Brown	Republican	Aye	Aye
Kansas	Brownback, SamSam Brownback	Republican	No	No
Kentucky	Bunning, JimJim Bunning	Republican	Did not vote	Did not vote
North Carolina	Burr, RichardRichard Burr	Republican	No	Aye
Washington	Cantwell, MariaMaria Cantwell	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Maryland	Cardin, BenBen Cardin	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Delaware	Carper, TomTom Carper	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Pennsylvania	Casey, Jr., BobBob Casey, Jr.	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Georgia	Chambliss, SaxbySaxby Chambliss	Republican	No	No
Oklahoma	Coburn, TomTom Coburn	Republican	No	No
Mississippi	Cochran, ThadThad Cochran	Republican	No	No
Maine	Collins, SusanSusan Collins	Republican	Aye	Aye
North Dakota	Conrad, KentKent Conrad	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Delaware	Coons, ChrisChris Coons	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Tennessee	Corker, BobBob Corker	Republican	No	No
Texas	Cornyn, JohnJohn Cornyn	Republican	No	No
Idaho	Crapo, MikeMike Crapo	Republican	No	No
South Carolina	DeMint, JimJim DeMint	Republican	No	No
Connecticut	Dodd, ChristopherChristopher Dodd	Democratic	Aye	Aye
North Dakota	Dorgan, ByronByron Dorgan	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Illinois	Durbin, DickDick Durbin	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Nevada	Ensign, JohnJohn Ensign	Republican	No	Aye
Wyoming	Enzi, MikeMike Enzi	Republican	No	No
Wisconsin	Feingold, RussRuss Feingold	Democratic	Aye	Aye
California	Feinstein, DianneDianne Feinstein	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Minnesota	Franken, AlAl Franken	Democratic	Aye	Aye
New York	Gillibrand, KirstenKirsten Gillibrand	Democratic	Aye	Aye
South Carolina	Graham, LindseyLindsey Graham	Republican	No	No
Iowa	Grassley, ChuckChuck Grassley	Republican	No	No
New Hampshire	Gregg, JuddJudd Gregg	Republican	Did not vote	Did not vote
North Carolina	Hagan, KayKay Hagan	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Iowa	Harkin, TomTom Harkin	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Utah	Hatch, OrrinOrrin Hatch	Republican	Did not vote	Did not vote
Texas	Hutchison, Kay BaileyKay Bailey Hutchison	Republican	No	No
Oklahoma	Inhofe, JimJim Inhofe	Republican	No	No
Hawaii	Inouye, DanielDaniel Inouye	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Georgia	Isakson, JohnnyJohnny Isakson	Republican	No	No
Nebraska	Johanns, MikeMike Johanns	Republican	No	No
South Dakota	Johnson, TimTim Johnson	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Massachusetts	Kerry, JohnJohn Kerry	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Illinois	Kirk, MarkMark Kirk	Republican	Aye	Aye
Minnesota	Klobuchar, AmyAmy Klobuchar	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Wisconsin	Kohl, HerbHerb Kohl	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Arizona	Kyl, JonJon Kyl	Republican	No	No
Louisiana	Landrieu, MaryMary Landrieu	Democratic	Aye	Aye
New Jersey	Lautenberg, FrankFrank Lautenberg	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Vermont	Leahy, PatrickPatrick Leahy	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Florida	LeMieux, GeorgeGeorge LeMieux	Republican	No	No
Michigan	Levin, CarlCarl Levin	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Connecticut	Lieberman, JoeJoe Lieberman	Independent	Aye	Aye
Arkansas	Lincoln, BlancheBlanche Lincoln	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Indiana	Lugar, RichardRichard Lugar	Republican	No	No
West Virginia	Manchin, JoeJoe Manchin	Democratic	No	Did not vote
Arizona	McCain, JohnJohn McCain	Republican	No	No
Missouri	McCaskill, ClaireClaire McCaskill	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Kentucky	McConnell, MitchMitch McConnell	Republican	No	No
New Jersey	Menendez, BobBob Menendez	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Oregon	Merkley, JeffJeff Merkley	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Maryland	Mikulski, BarbaraBarbara Mikulski	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Alaska	Murkowski, LisaLisa Murkowski	Republican	Aye	Aye
Washington	Murray, PattyPatty Murray	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Nebraska	Nelson, BenBen Nelson	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Florida	Nelson, BillBill Nelson	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Arkansas	Pryor, MarkMark Pryor	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Rhode Island	Reed, JackJack Reed	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Nevada	Reid, HarryHarry Reid	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Idaho	Risch, JimJim Risch	Republican	No	No
Kansas	Roberts, PatPat Roberts	Republican	No	No
West Virginia	Rockefeller, JayJay Rockefeller	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Vermont	Sanders, BernieBernie Sanders	Independent	Aye	Aye
New York	Schumer, ChuckChuck Schumer	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Alabama	Sessions, JeffJeff Sessions	Republican	No	No
New Hampshire	Shaheen, JeanneJeanne Shaheen	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Alabama	Shelby, RichardRichard Shelby	Republican	No	No
Maine	Snowe, OlympiaOlympia Snowe	Republican	Aye	Aye
Pennsylvania	Specter, ArlenArlen Specter	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Michigan	Stabenow, DebbieDebbie Stabenow	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Montana	Tester, JonJon Tester	Democratic	Aye	Aye
South Dakota	Thune, JohnJohn Thune	Republican	No	No
Colorado	Udall, MarkMark Udall	Democratic	Aye	Aye
New Mexico	Udall, TomTom Udall	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Louisiana	Vitter, DavidDavid Vitter	Republican	No	No
Ohio	Voinovich, GeorgeGeorge Voinovich	Republican	Aye	Aye
Virginia	Warner, MarkMark Warner	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Virginia	Webb, JimJim Webb	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Rhode Island	Whitehouse, SheldonSheldon Whitehouse	Democratic	Aye	Aye
Mississippi	Wicker, RogerRoger Wicker	Republican	No	No
Oregon	Wyden, RonRon Wyden	Democratic	Aye	Aye

Implementation

Following enactment, the Department of Defense charged a committee led by Clifford Stanley to oversee its implementation. Stanley's committee commissioned a comprehensive review of current policies, the repeal, and whether the new status quo would be consistent with the goals of, in the words of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, "military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces."^[29] On January 29, 2011, the Pentagon released its plan for implementing the end of DADT. It called for a three-month period of training for all personnel, beginning in the third quarter of 2011. President Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen sent Congress the required certification that implementation of repeal would not have negative effect on military readiness and performance on July 22, 2011. Full implementation of the repeal occurred 60 days later on September 20, 2011.

The repeal of DADT did not alter the language of Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which banned sodomy by service members. This prohibition was removed upon enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014.^[30]

References

1. Wilgoren, Debbi; Backon, Perry Jr. (2010-12-22). "Obama to sign DADT repeal before big, emotional crowd". Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
2. "Obama signs bill repealing 'don't ask, don't tell' policy". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
3. "H.R.2965 - Dont Ask, Dont Tell Repeal Act of 2010". OpenCongress.org.
4. American Psychological Association: Proceedings of the American Psychological Association for the legislative year 2004. Minutes of the meeting of the Council of Representatives July 28 & 30, 2004, Honolulu, Hawaii, accessed March 5, 2012
5. "Report: 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' costs $363M". USA Today. February 14, 2006. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
6. "Opinions of Military Personnel on Sexual Minorities in the Military" (PDF). 2006. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
7. Joint Chiefs of Staff: "Testimony Regarding DoD 'Dont Ask, Dont Tell' Policy," February 22, 2010, accessed February 19, 2012
8. "Final vote results for roll call 317". Clerk.house.gov. May 27, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
9. Allen, Jared; Tiron, Roxana (May 25, 2010). "GOP to defend 'Don't ask, Don't Tell'". The Hill. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
10. Fritze, John (May 27, 2010). "Congress advances repeal of 'don’t ask, don’t tell'". USA Today. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
11. Herszenhorn, David M.; Hulse, Carl (May 27, 2010). "House Votes to Allow Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Law". The New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
12. "House Passes 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Bill". CBS. May 28, 2010. Archived from the original on July 21, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
13. "Senate halts 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal". CNN. September 22, 2010.
14. Department of Defense: "Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'," November 30, 2010, accessed January 30, 2012; comprehensive report
15. Bumiller, Elisabeth (November 30, 2010). "Little Impact Seen if Military Gay Ban Is Repealed". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
16. New York Times: Elisabeth Bumiller, "Service Chiefs Tell Panel of Risks to 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal," December 3, 2010, accessed January 30, 2011
17. O'Keefe, Ed; Whitlock, Craig (November 30, 2010). "'Don't ask, don't tell' report: Little risk to allowing gays to serve openly". Washington Post. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
18. "Top generals buck White House on military gay ban". MSNBC. December 3, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
19. O'Keefe, Ed; Kane, Paul (December 9, 2010). "'Don't ask, don't tell' procedural vote fails". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 10, 2010. Crossing party lines, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine voted in favor of cloture on the bill and Sen Joe Manchin of West Virginia voted against cloture. Manchin stated that he did not support cloture because he had not yet consulted constituents on the issue, but said that the policy "probably should be repealed in the near future". D'Aprile, Shane (December 9, 2010). "Manchin votes against 'Don't ask' repeal, then apologizes". The Hill. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
20. O'Keefe, Ed; Whitlock, Craig (December 11, 2010). "New bill introduced to end 'don't ask, don't tell'". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
21. "S. 4022". Hdl.loc.gov. December 9, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
22. "Final vote results for roll call 638". Clerk.house.gov. December 15, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
23. "Bill Summary & Status – 111th Congress (2009–2010) – H.R.6520". Hdl.loc.gov. June 19, 2009. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
24. "U.S. Senate Roll Call", U.S. Senate, December 18, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
25. Hulse, Carl (December 18, 2010). "Senate Repeals 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
26. "Statement by Secretary Robert Gates on Senate Vote to Repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'" (Press release). United States Department of Defense. December 18, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
27. Roll call vote 279, via Senate.gov
28. Roll call vote 281, via Senate.gov
29. "News Relauthorauthored=Robert Gates". United States Department of Defense. December 18, 2010.
30. http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=121444

External links

• Bill Summary & Status - 111th Congress (2009 - 2010) - H.R.2965
• In Historic Move, Senate Votes to Repeal "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" - video report by Democracy Now!
• Invocation delivered at Presidential Signing Ceremony for DADT Repeal, December 22, 2010.
• Rhode Island College LibGuide - Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal