In Brief: The Fight Is Not Over Yet

The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 was cause for celebration. But DADT is not dead yet. It left a trail of damage that repeal, even when fully enacted, won't necessarily address.

In addition to the fact that the government has not completed all the steps necessary to make DADT history—meaning the policy is still in effect—14,000 service members were robbed of their livelihoods and those still serving face uncertainty about their status. Many who were issued "other than honorable" discharges left service with a taint on their reputations. Even those with "honorable" discharges often lost the ability to maintain privacy about their sexual orientation, because discharge paperwork continues to indicate to future employers that they are "unable to re-enlist" because of DADT.

Moreover, the government, unconscionably, is demanding that some discharged service members return compensation issued to them because their service was cut short—though through no fault of their own, and because of a policy that is unconstitutional. Between the stress of losing a job, continued liability to the government and having their reputations in the workforce compromised by an unlawful policy, it's little wonder that some of the men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms have fallen into financial straits as a result of DADT.

Among active lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members, the stress wrought by nearly two decades of official discrimination will not disappear overnight. Polls show that most active military do not care about the sexual orientation of their colleagues and don't think it has any effect on a person's ability to serve. However, OutServe, an advocacy group for active LGBT service members, reports suicides among active LGBT service members within the past year, and that active LGBT military personnel continue to experience harassment and discrimination.

These are some of the reasons why, even with the repeal bill in place, it was critical for Lambda Legal to urge the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court ruling which declared DADT unconstitutional. Last week, we filed a friend-of-the-court brief alongside other advocacy groups, including OutServe, in support of the plaintiff in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States.

The government has taken a significant step by passing the DADT Repeal Act. But repeal isn't everything. Many more steps are needed to address the ongoing challenges—and redress the legacy of harm—left by DADT.