LGBTQ Vets Still Suffering The Consequences of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 4 July 2023
⏱️ 14 minutes
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Summary
Veterans who received an "other than honorable" discharge from the military under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" were ineligible for veterans' benefits. That meant missing out on benefits like free VA healthcare, VA-backed home loans or funds for college tuition.
While the Pentagon says that 90% of applications to change discharge status have been granted, advocates say that as of March 2023, only 1,375 vets have had benefits reinstated – a tiny fraction of the number of affected vets believed to be out there.
NPR's Quil Lawrence follows the story of two gay veterans, both affected by "Don't Ask Don't Tell", but in very different ways.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I believe when you tell people they can't do certain things in this country that other people |
| 0:16.9 | can do, there ought to be an overwhelming and compelling reason for it. |
| 0:20.3 | When Bill Clinton became president in 1993, one of his promises to the nation was that |
| 0:25.7 | he would end the World War II era policy that banned lesbian and gay people from military |
| 0:30.7 | service. |
| 0:31.7 | The policy I am announcing today is in my judgment the right thing to do and the best |
| 0:36.3 | way to do it. |
| 0:37.3 | Clinton signed a law that would allow gay, lesbian or bisexual troops to serve in the |
| 0:41.8 | military, but only so long as they weren't open about it. |
| 0:46.0 | It is right because it provides greater protection to those who happen to be homosexual and want |
| 0:50.9 | to serve their country honorably and uniform, obeying all the military's rules against |
| 0:56.5 | sexual misconduct. |
| 0:58.6 | It is the best way to proceed because it provides a sensible balance between the rights of |
| 1:03.3 | the individual and the needs of our military to remain the world's number one fighting |
| 1:08.3 | force. |
| 1:09.3 | This law was referred to as don't ask, don't tell. |
| 1:13.1 | If you were a gay, lesbian or bisexual member of the military, you did not talk about it |
| 1:18.8 | and you could not be asked about your sexual orientation or your gender identity. |
| 1:23.6 | I felt like hiding my fairness was the price I had to pay to do the job I wanted to do |
| 1:30.4 | to get the results that I wanted to get out of the light. |
| 1:33.0 | Latanya White served in the army for 15 years. |
| 1:36.6 | And so it was like, if I can't be gay, I won't be gay. |
... |
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