Ready or Not Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Throughout his presidential campaign, and again as recently as the 2010 State of the Union address 2, President Obama reinforced his commitment to lift the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the U.S. military. Although he cannot lift the ban on his ownonly the legislative branch has the authoritythe Presidents clear stance and the Democratic Partys majority in Congress point to repeal of the Dont Ask, Dont Tell DADT policy in the nearer term. In fact, a bill has already been introduced and some Democrats in Congress are posturing to include a repeal in their versions of the defense authorization bill this year.3 Moreover, in Congressional testimony, Admiral Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated it was his personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do.4 The U.S., with its ban on open homosexuals, stands with 11 other countries, but this list does not include countries where homosexuality is banned outright, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and several other nations in the Middle East.