Ask Lambda Legal

Q: I'm a 12-year Navy veteran currently stationed in San Diego. I live a pretty comfortable life off-base but am obviously closeted once I put on my uniform. Now that President Obama has signed the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" into law, is it safe to come out?

A: Absolutely not. While Congress and President Obama gave lesbian, gay and bisexual service members a happy ending to a bumpy year, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) may remain in effect for months. That's because the language of the repeal states that the President, Secretary of Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff of the services must now certify that the military is ready to implement whatever changes are necessary to allow lesbian, gay and bisexual troops to serve openly. The law doesn't stipulate any timeframe by which that must take place, but in a recent interview with the Advocate, President Obama said, "My strong sense is this is a matter of months ... this is not something that they're going to be slow walking." Even after certification, the repeal specifies a 60-day waiting period before DADT joins many other divisive policies in the compost heap of history.

Until then, LGB service members should consider themselves in limbo, still potentially subject to investigation and discharge. While recent policy changes mean that any discharge under DADT at any level of the military demands the highest level of civilian review, for now unfortunately, DADT is still law.

And the overdue death of DADT is likely to pose a host of other questions that lead to further battles for the full equality of those who serve our country. One of the more prominent: what about the partners/spouses of service members? Will they be eligible to live in military housing? Will they receive health benefits? Most federal employees currently do not receive health and other benefits for same-sex spouses. In Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management, Lambda Legal's lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of a federal court employee seeking health benefits for her wife, government attorneys claim the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" prohibits the government from offering the same benefits to lesbian, gay and bisexual employees as it does to its heterosexual ones. Other questions that may arise post-repeal relate to retroactivity: will those discharged under DADT who subsequently seek to reenlist receive credit towards retirement for the years when they were unable to serve?

Still, at the very least we can all celebrate that the repeal has brought the military in line with other federal employers—not to mention into the 21st century. For questions visit or call our Help Desk at 866-542-8336. More information is also available at the U.S. Department of Defense.