2011 – U.S. MILITARY ENDS “DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL” POLICY

The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was adopted by Bill Clinton in December 1993. In an effort to restrict LGBTQ+ members within the military, this policy banned any discussion regarding personal orientations. If a member was discovered to be gay or lesbian, they were discharged from their military service. “‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ at first seemed like ‘Okay you can be that way, just don’t be out about it,’” government teacher Joshua Dobbs said regarding the history of the policy. “But if you were found out to be outed, you would be kicked out, dishonorably.” 

Decades earlier, on Sept. 19, 1963, the first gay rights demonstrations took place at the Whitehall Induction Center in New York City, where people protested sexual orientation discrimination within the military.

Forty-eight years later, the policy was lifted, allowing LGBTQ+ members in military service to freely identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. However, transgender or gender-expansive individuals were still banned from being able to serve within the U.S. military.