Editing Don't ask, don't tell (section)

===Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010===
{{See also|Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010}}
[[File:DADT Repeal Senate.svg|thumb|right|The Senate passed S.4023 65–31 with all Democrats (except for one abstention) and eight Republicans in support.
{{legend|#000080|Both yes}}
{{legend|#0066FF|One yes, one did not vote}}
{{legend|#D42AFF|One yes, one no}}
{{legend|#D40000|One no, one did not vote}}
{{legend|#800000|Both no}}]]

Democrats in both houses of Congress first attempted to end DADT by amending the Defense Authorization Act. On May 27, 2010, on a 234–194 vote,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll317.xml |title=Final vote results for roll call 317 |publisher=Clerk.house.gov |date=May 27, 2010 |access-date=December 19, 2010}}</ref> the U.S. House of Representatives approved the [[Patrick Murphy (Pennsylvania politician)|Murphy]] amendment<ref>{{cite news|last1=Allen|first1=Jared|last2=Tiron|first2=Roxana|title=GOP to defend 'Don't ask, Don't Tell'|newspaper=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|date=May 25, 2010|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/161816-gop-to-defend-dont-ask-dont-tell/|access-date=May 30, 2010}}</ref> to the [[National Defense Authorization Act]] for Fiscal Year 2011. It provided for repeal of the DADT policy and created a process for lifting the policy, including a [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]] study and certification by key officials that the change in policy would not harm military readiness followed by a waiting period of 60 days.<ref name="Fritze">{{cite news|first=John|last=Fritze|title=Congress advances repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'|work=USA Today|date=May 27, 2010|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2010/05/congress-advances-repeal-of-%E2%80%98dont-ask-dont-tell/1|access-date=May 27, 2010}}</ref><ref name="NYT100528">{{cite news|last1=Herszenhorn|first1=David M.|last2=Hulse|first2=Carl|title=House Votes to Allow Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Law|work=The New York Times|date=May 27, 2010|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/politics/28tell.html|access-date=May 28, 2010}}</ref> The amended defense bill passed the House on May 28, 2010.<ref>{{cite news|last=Herszenhorn|first=David M.|title=House Passes Bill With 'Don't Tell' Repeal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/29/us/politics/29cong.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/29/us/politics/29cong.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited |access-date=December 29, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 28, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On September 21, 2010, [[John McCain]] led a successful [[filibuster]] against on the Defense Authorization Act, in which 56 Senators voted to [[cloture|end debate]], four short of the 60 votes required.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/21/senate.defense.bill/index.html |publisher=CNN | title=Senate halts 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal | date=September 22, 2010}}</ref> Some advocates for repeal, including the Palm Center, OutServe, and Knights Out, opposed any attempt to block the passage of NDAA if it failed to include DADT repeal language. The Human Rights Campaign, the Center for American Progress, Servicemembers United and SLDN refused to concede that possibility.<ref>O'Keefe, Ed (November 15, 2010). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/15/AR2010111506463.html "'Don't ask, don't tell' splitting gay rights groups"]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved March 12, 2010.</ref>

[[File:Obama meets with Joint Chiefs about DADT.jpg|thumb|left|President Obama meeting in the Oval Office with Secretary Gates, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard on the eve of the publication of a DoD report on the repeal of DADT.]]

The [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU) filed a lawsuit, ''[[Collins v. United States]]'', against the Department of Defense in November 2010 seeking full compensation for those discharged under the policy.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/collins-v-united-states-class-action-military-separation-pay|title = Collins v. United States – Class Action for Military Separation Pay|publisher = American Civil Liberties Union|date = November 10, 2010}}</ref>

On November 30, 2010, the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] released the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Comprehensive Review Working Group (CRWG) report authored by [[Jeh C. Johnson]], [[General Counsel of the Department of Defense]], and Army General [[Carter F. Ham]].<ref name="AFPS-report">{{Cite web|author=Daniel, Lisa |date=November 30, 2010 |title=Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Offers Few Risks, Report Finds |publisher=Armed Forces Press Service, United States Department of Defense |url=https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/id/61899/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115122016/http://www.defense.gov//News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=61899 |archive-date=January 15, 2012 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=O'Keefe |first=Ed |date=November 30, 2010 |title='Don't ask, don't tell' report authors speak out |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/30/AR2010113002654.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901222056/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/30/AR2010113002654.html |archive-date=September 1, 2013 |url-status=live  }}</ref> It outlined a path to the implementation of repeal of DADT.<ref name="CRWG">Department of Defense: [http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2010/0610_dadt/DADTReport_FINAL_20101130%28secure-hires%29.pdf "Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113202958/http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2010/0610_dadt/DADTReport_FINAL_20101130%28secure-hires%29.pdf |date=January 13, 2012 }}, November 30, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2012; [[:File:DADT Defense Department report.pdf|comprehensive report]]. Survey results 63–79, analysis 120-6, quote 121: "Overall, in response to a variety of questions, 50–55% of the force indicated that repeal will have a mixed or no effect; about 15–20% believe that repeal will have a positive effect, while another 30% believe it will have a negative effect."</ref> The report indicated that there was a low risk of service disruptions due to repealing the ban, provided time was provided for proper implementation and training.<ref name="AFPS-report" /><ref name="NYTonCRWG">{{cite news|last=Bumiller|first=Elisabeth|title=Pentagon Sees Little Risk in Allowing Gay Men and Women to Serve Openly|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/us/politics/01military.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/us/politics/01military.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited |access-date=December 29, 2012|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 30, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It included the results of a survey of 115,000 active-duty and reserve service members. Across all service branches, 30 percent thought that integrating gays into the military would have negative consequences. In the Marine Corps and combat specialties, the percentage with that negative assessment ranged from 40 to 60 percent. The CRWG also said that 69 percent of all those surveyed believed they had already worked with a gay or lesbian and of those, 92 percent reported that the impact of that person's presence was positive or neutral.<ref name=CRWG /><ref name=NYTonCRWG /> The same day, in response to the CRWG, 30 professors and scholars, most from military institutions, issued a joint statement saying that the CRWG "echoes more than 20 studies, including studies by military researchers, all of which reach the same conclusion: allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly will not harm the military&nbsp;... We hope that our collective statement underscores that the debate about the evidence is now officially over".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.palmcenter.org/press/dadt/releases/military-civilianprofessorsdadtdebateover |title=Military and Civilian Professors Say That "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Debate is Over – 30 Scholars Conclude that Prejudice is the Only Remaining Rationale for Gay Ban |publisher=Palmcenter.org |date=December 15, 2010 |access-date=December 19, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725185218/http://www.palmcenter.org/press/dadt/releases/military-civilianprofessorsdadtdebateover |archive-date=July 25, 2011 }}. The signers' affiliations included current and former academics at the [[United States Army War College|Army War College]], [[United States Naval Academy|Naval Academy]], [[United States Military Academy|West Point]], [[United States Air Force Academy|Air Force Academy]], [[Naval Postgraduate School]], [[Naval War College]], [[Air Command and Staff College]] and [[National Defense University (Washington, D.C.)|National Defense University]] and such non-military institutions as [[Harvard University|Harvard]], Yale and [[Princeton University|Princeton]]. The statement was organized by the Pam Center.</ref> The [[Family Research Council]]'s president, [[Tony Perkins (politician)|Tony Perkins]], interpreted the CRWG data differently, writing that it "reveals that 40 percent of Marines and 25 percent of the Army could leave".<ref>Perkins, Tony (December 9, 2010). ''The Washington Times'': [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/9/listen-to-the-marines-on-dont-ask/ "Listen to the Marines on 'Don't Ask'"]. Retrieved April 4, 2012.</ref>

Gates encouraged Congress to act quickly to repeal the law so that the military could carefully adjust rather than face a court decision requiring it to lift the policy immediately.<ref name=NYTonCRWG /> The United States Senate held two days of hearings on December 2 and 3, 2010, to consider the CRWG report. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs chairman Michael Mullen urged immediate repeal.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bumiller |first=Elizabeth |title=Top Defense Officials Seek to End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 2, 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/us/politics/03military.html |access-date=December 29, 2012}}</ref> The heads of the Marine Corps, Army, and Navy all advised against immediate repeal and expressed varied views on its eventual repeal.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bumiller|first=Elizabeth|title=Service Chiefs Tell Panel of Risks to 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/us/politics/04military.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/us/politics/04military.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited|access-date=December 29, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 3, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Oliver North]], writing in ''[[National Review]]'' the next week, said that Gates' testimony showed "a deeply misguided commitment to political correctness". He interpreted the CRWG's data as indicating a high risk that large numbers of resignations would follow the repeal of DADT. Service members, especially combat troops, he wrote, "deserve better than to be treated like lab rats in Mr. Obama's radical social experiment".<ref>North, Oliver (December 7, 2010). [http://www.nationalreview.com/article/254643/gays-military-oliver-north "Gays in the Military"], ''National Review'': Retrieved February 26, 2012</ref>

[[File:Obama signs DADT repeal.jpg|thumb|Obama signs the [[Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010]]]]

On December 9, 2010, another filibuster prevented debate on the Defense Authorization Act.<ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Keefe |first1=Ed |last2=Kane |first2=Paul |title='Don't ask, don't tell' procedural vote fails |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 9, 2010 |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2010/12/dont_ask_dont_tell_procedural.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009011320/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2010/12/dont_ask_dont_tell_procedural.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 9, 2012 |access-date=December 10, 2010}}</ref> In response to that vote, Senators [[Joe Lieberman]] and [[Susan Collins]] introduced a bill that included the policy-related portions of the Defense Authorization Act that they considered more likely to pass as a stand-alone bill.<ref>{{cite news|last1=O'Keefe |first1=Ed |last2=Whitlock |first2=Craig |title=New bill introduced to end 'don't ask, don't tell'|newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 11, 2010 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/10/AR2010121007163.html |access-date=December 13, 2010}}</ref> It passed the House on a vote of 250 to 175 on December 15, 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll638.xml |title=Final vote results for roll call 638 |publisher=Clerk.house.gov |date=December 15, 2010 |access-date=December 19, 2010}}</ref> On December 18, 2010, the Senate voted to end debate on its version of the bill by a cloture vote of 63–33.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00279 "U.S. Senate Roll Call"], U.S. Senate, December 18, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2010.</ref> The final Senate vote was held later that same day, with the measure passing by a vote of 65–31.<ref name="NYTcong">{{cite news|last=Hulse|first=Carl|title=Senate Repeals Ban Against Openly Gay Military Personnel|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 18, 2010|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/us/politics/19cong.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/us/politics/19cong.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited |access-date=December 29, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

U.S. Secretary of Defense [[Robert Gates]] released a statement following the vote indicating that the planning for implementation of a policy repeal would begin right away and would continue until Gates certified that conditions were met for orderly repeal of the policy.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Statement by Secretary Robert Gates on Senate Vote to Repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' |url=http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=14154 |publisher=United States Department of Defense |date=December 18, 2010 |access-date=December 19, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224204231/http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=14154 |archive-date=December 24, 2010  }}</ref> President Obama signed the repeal into law on December 22, 2010.<ref name="Obama_Signed" />