At 6-Month Mark, DADT Repeal "Proceeding Smoothly"
On September 20, 2011, gay service members, their advocates, and their champions on Capitol Hill and elsewhere celebrated the formal end of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy while opponents predicted the military's gradual demise.
Yet six months later, it's no surprise which side has the facts, and which side continues to be mired in fiction. According to one recent survey, a significant majority of service members report that DADT repeal simply hasn't affected their mission.
“I think the success of repeal is at a far more advanced stage than I had ever anticipated,” said Josh Seefried, co-founder of the group OutServe, which claims more than 50 chapter groups worldwide and is planning an international conference in Orlando, Fla. this fall. “Just the sheer number of people who have come out has changed military culture very quickly.”
A March 12 Military Times poll showed nearly three-fourths of respondents said that the effect of an individual coming out in their units had no impact. An increased number of respondents in this year's poll said that they expected repeal to have no net effect compared to last year's survey.
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2012/03/20/At_Six_Month_Mark_DADT_Repeal_Proceeding_Smoothly/