Don’t Ask about Background

CNS News provides the background you seldom hear over Bill Clinton’s pro-homosexual “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” rule allowing closeted homosexuals to serve in the military.

The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is not a law but a federal rule that the president could rescind, which would automatically make it illegal for homosexuals to serve in the military, according to the Center for Military Readiness.

Meanwhile, Congress is considering legislation to bypass existing rules and allow homosexuals to openly serve – an idea that some Democratic presidential candidates support, which could stir public debate as the 2008 campaign moves forward.

The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was never approved by Congress. It was an administrative order issued by President Bill Clinton in 1993. Later that year, the Democrat-controlled Congress rejected the policy and passed a law codifying into law a Department of Defense regulation that said “homosexuality is incompatible with military service.”

The compromise in this bill was to allow Clinton’s policy about not asking or telling to stand, unless the secretary of defense determines the question should be reinstated.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was never reconciled to military law in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). It was simply an official policy of “we’re going to ignore the law.”

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