Duty, Honor, Pride
Repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell"
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As several thousands of military members were discharged for being LGBTQ+, the repeal of the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy came in December 2010 after Congress overturned it and the repeal was signed by President Barack Obama. It was put into effect in 2011, allowing gay and lesbian servicemembers to openly serve in the U.S. military (Archives Foundation).
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LGBT-050: “Obama Pride” Button
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Snowden, Lindsay. Interview by Liam Fuller, 22 March 2015. LGBT Center of Central PA History Project. Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA. |
The repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" received a positive reaction from servicemembers like Snowden. Gay and lesbian servicemembers now “could just live free, get all the benefits, just the same as everyone else” serving in the military, as Snowden explained. Snowden even tried to re-enlist in the military, but the length of time sirb had been out of the military would have made Snowden drop a rank in order to re-enlist.
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