The Cost of "Don't Ask, Don’t Tell"

"President Barack Obama has promised to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy relating to homosexual service members, but gays and lesbians are still being forced out of the military."

"More than 12,500 gay and lesbian soldiers have been discharged since "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" began in 1993. "

"Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a Washington-based nonprofit advocating an end to the military's policy, says that while discharges due to the policy have declined since the 9/11 attacks and the invasion of Iraq, women have been discharged in numbers that are disproportionate to their numbers in the military. "

"In a report published in 2003, SLDN stated that more than a third of the Army's discharges under "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" (36%) were women, who make up only 15% of the Army's total forces. Similarly, 34% of Coast Guard discharges were women, who make up only 7% of the Coast Guard"