(OUTscene America) Don't Ask, Don't Tell's Repeal Hailed at the Stonewall!

BY MICHAEL T. LUONGO

It was a signal gay moment celebrated in New York’s most historic gay venue –– the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT), the 1993 Clinton-era gay military policy, in the Stonewall Inn, the iconic Christopher Street bar that sparked the modern gay rights movement more 40 years ago.

By 8 p.m. on September 20 –– just before City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, pulling Queens Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer on stage with her, gave a short speech in honor of the occasion –– the Inn had perhaps 120 patrons, some spilling outside for cigarettes. Maybe a third were military, including West Point cadets, former military, or service members’ family, but the clues were subtle –– buzz cuts, a woman wearing her partner’s fatigue jacket, and that certain demeanor that no civilian can easily imitate.

The event was sponsored by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a group that for years pushed for DADT’s repeal while providing aid to soldiers facing discharge or trying to avoid it.

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