Duty, Honor, Pride
Criticisms of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell"
Snowden’s experience was far too common in the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network reported that female servicemembers were specifically singled out for harassment, accounting for about a fifth of the discharges for homosexuality despite only making up thirteen percent of active duty. They were specifically singled out and accused of homosexuality after filing sexual harassment or assault complaints against a male co-worker.
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There was also a lot of confusion surrounding the policy in terms of how it was carried out. Military leaders found it difficult to know when and how investigations were to be conducted under this new policy. An issue also existed regarding what classified as the “credible evidence” needed to investigate LGBTQ+ servicemembers.
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