Bill Clinton’s White House Believed DADT Would Discourage ‘Practicing Homosexuals’ From Enlisting. While ‘Advancing’ the Lives of Existing Gay Soldiers

In a July 1993 article, the New York Times quoted a White House aide, when President Bill Clinton signed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell into law, that the policy “is going to discourage acting, practicing homosexuals from being in the military” but “will lead to significant advances for homosexuals in the military. It will clearly state that individuals cannot be asked about their sexual orientation nor will they be required to reveal it. It will clearly create, we believe, a zone of privacy in the military.” Curious, however, that there are exactly zero reports of a commanding officer being discharged from the military for violating the “Don’t Ask” portion of the law, while the tally of the “Don’t Tell” violators numbers in the five-figures.