At midnight on Sept. 20, 2011, the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law went into effect, ending 18 years of discrimination against gays and lesbians openly serving in the military and moving America one step closer to total equality.
The law was enacted on December 21, 1993, and prevented closeted gay and lesbian soldiers from being harassed for their sexuality. However, it barred soldiers that were openly homosexual or bisexual from serving. In a message to the nation published the night the repeal went into effect, President Obama described the law as discriminatory and went on to say that “we have taken another great step toward keeping our military the finest in the world and toward fulfilling our nations founding