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Uniform Code of Military Justice
President Harry S. Truman signs the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which sets up discharge rules for homosexual service members. -
Graham Claytor changes Department of Defense Policy
During Jimmy Carter's presidency Deputy Secretary of Defense Graham Claytor wrote a memo to the Joint Chiefs of Staff stating that "homosexuality is incompatible with military service." -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Court ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick that there is no fundamental right to engage in consensual homosexual sodomy, the courts had uniformly held that the military may discharge a service
member for overt homosexual conduct. -
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don't Pursue”
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don't Pursue” is introduced as a compromise. Congress later inserts text in a bill that requires the military to abide by regulations set up in President Ronald Reagan’s defense directive that military applicants should not be asked about their sexual orientation. -
Signing of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
President Clinton signed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" into law. -
Clinton vows to fix policy
Clinton says “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” doesn't work and pledges to find a way to fix it. He said he meant to create a policy that would help gay service members remain on duty without being persecuted for their sexual orientation. -
Lawrence v. Texas
The Court’s 2003 ruling in Lawrence overruled Bowers and
declared unconstitutional a Texas law that prohibited sexual acts between same-sex couples. -
Log Cabin Republicans v. United States
A gay activist group known as the Log Cabin Republicans sues the U.S. government under the Bush administration over DADT, claiming the policy violates the constitutional rights of gay service members. -
Military Readiness Act of 2005
This act is introduced to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law. This would force the military to be non discrimative against gays. The bill did not pass with 122 votes. -
Report released on discharged troops
A private report released by the University of California says that discharging troops under the Pentagon's policy on gays cost $363.8 million over 10 years, almost double what the government concluded in 2005. -
Military Readiness Act of 2007
Once again a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is introduced. The bill did not pass with 149 co supporters. -
State of the Union address
President Barack Obama, in his State of the Union address, says he "will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are." -
Robert Gates and Mike Mullen present testimonies to Congress
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen voice support for allowing gays to serve openly in the military for the first time in history, in testimony before Congress. -
Pentagon report released
The Pentagon report concludes that allowing gays to serve openly in the armed forces presents a low risk to the military's abilities and effectiveness . -
Gates approves higher barriers for discharge
Gates approves new rules that will make it harder to discharge gays from the military, calling the changes a matter of "common sense and common decency." The rules impose tougher requirements for evidence used against gays. -
House votes to overturn policy
The House votes 234-194 to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” -
Log Cabin Republicans trial begins
After languishing on the court's docket for nearly 6 years, the trial begins in the lawsuit brought by the Log Cabin Republicans. The case is presided over by the U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips in Riverside, California. -
Phillips rules policy unconstitutional
U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips in Los Angeles rules that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is an unconstitutional violation of due process and free speech rights. -
Senate filibuster
Senate majority leader Harry Reid forced a vote on repealing DADT as part of the Defense reathorizaion bill. With only one Republican's support, it fell three votes short of the 60 needed to break a filibuster. -
House approves repeal bill
As a final effort, a stand-alone version of the repeal bill is introduced, and Houses handily approves the measure 250 to 175. It goes back to the Senate as a privileged bill. -
Senate approves repeal bill
By a vote of 65 to 31, with eight Republicans joining Democrats, the Senate approves and sends to President Obama a repeal of DADT. -
Obama signs legistation repealing DADT
During a signing ceremony in a packed auditorium at the Interior Department, President Obama signs legislation repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," -
Implementing the policy
President Obama's top defense officials tell the Senate that the military will no longer aggressively pursue disciplinary action against gay service members whose orientation is revealed against their will by third parties.
