Pentagon, President Certify Legislative Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

President Barack Obama on Friday formally enacted the end to the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

Military gay ban to end Sept 20. http://bit.ly/qcD8bb #lgbt #gay #lesbian #p2 #tcot (via @WashingtonBlade)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Servicemembers United, the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans, hailed today's news that the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have all signed off on, or certified, the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law.

"Today, gay and lesbian servicemembers can and will breath a huge sigh of relief. While we still must wait 60 days for this change to formally take effect and for the law to officially be off the books, this step is nothing short of historic," said Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United and a former U.S. Army Human Intelligence Collector who was discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." "This is the final nail in the coffin for the discriminatory, outdated, and harmful 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law. All servicemembers, the U.S. military, and the nation will be better off as a result of this long overdue change in policy."

Certification - a formal acknowledgement by the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that military is ready for the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law - was the last major political hurdle before the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal Act of 2010 could take effect. Now a 60-day waiting period will commence, at the end of which the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law will officially be repealed and off the books. 

In 2010, a U.S. District Court judge found the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law to be unconstitutional in a lawsuit brought by the Log Cabin Republicans and in which Servicemembers United's Executive Director served as the sole named plaintiff. A subsequent worldwide injunction barred enforcement of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law against servicemembers by the Department of Defense. That injunction, which had previously been stayed for a period of time by the Ninth Circuit, has been partially back in effect as of July 15th. 

For more information about Servicemembers United and the gay military community, please visit our new home on the web at www.servicemembers.org. 

###

Servicemembers United, a non-profit and non-partisan organization, is the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans and their allies. Based in Washington, DC, Servicemembers United actively engages in education and advocacy on issues affecting the gay military, veteran, and defense community.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

7/22/2011

Contact:

Jarrod Chlapowski: 252- 721-8152 | Email: jchlapowski@servicemembers.org

Alex Nicholson: 202-531-4839 | Email: anicholson@servicemembers.org