Policy Review: 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Gates Changes ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Enforcement

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2010 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today announced changes to the Pentagon’s regulation on homosexuals serving in the military that he said make the Defense Department’s enforcement of the so-called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law “fairer and more appropriate.”

On Feb. 2, Gates announced he’d ordered a review to understand the implications of a possible repeal of the 17-year-old law that bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. President Barack Obama has called on Congress to repeal the law.

The initial 45 days of that review, Gates said, produced findings that “would enforce the existing law in a fairer and more appropriate manner” and are supported by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and Vice Chairman Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright and the service chiefs. Story | Transcript