Don ' t Ask , Don ' t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 The Don ' t Ask , Don ' t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 ( , ) is a landmark federal statute enacted in December 2010 that established a process for ending the Don ' t ask , don ' t tell ( DADT ) policy ( ) , thus allowing gays , lesbians , and bisexuals to serve openly in the United States Armed Forces . It ended the policy in place since 1993 that allowed them to serve only if they kept their sexual orientation secret and the military did not learn of their sexual orientation . The Act established a process for ending the " Don ' t ask , don ' t tell " policy . According to the Congressional Research Service , the Act : The Act did not ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the military , as provided for in the proposed Military Readiness Enhancement Act . President Barack Obama , Defense Secretary Leon Panetta , and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen provided the certification required by the Act to Congress on July 22 , 2011 . Implementation of repeal was completed 60 days later , so that DADT was no longer policy as of September 20 , 2011 . Background . DADT was controversial from the time it was implemented , but it became increasingly a matter of public debate after 2004 . In July 2004 the American Psychological Association issued a statement that " Empirical evidence fails to show that sexual orientation is germane to any aspect of military effectiveness including unit cohesion , morale , recruitment and retention . " In February 2005 , the Government Accountability Office reported that DADT cost at least $ 95 . 4 million for recruiting and at least $ 95 . 1 million for training replacements for the 9 , 488 troops discharged from 1994 through 2003 . In December 2006 , Zogby International reported that a poll of military personnel conducted in October 2006 found that 26 % favored allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military , 37 % were opposed , while 37 % expressed no preference or were unsure . At a February 2 , 2010 congressional hearing , Senator John McCain read from a letter signed by " over one thousand former general and flag officers " . It said : " We firmly believe that this law , which Congress passed to protect good order , discipline and morale in the unique environment of the armed forces , deserves continued support . " Legislative history . The Democratic leadership in both the House and Senate tried to end the " don ' t ask , don ' t tell " policy with an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill . On May 27 , 2010 , on a 234 – 194 vote , the U . S . House of Representatives approved the Murphy amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 . It provided for repeal of the DADT policy and created a process for lifting the policy , including a U . S . Department of Defense study and certification by key officials that the change in policy would not harm military effectiveness , followed by a waiting period of 60 days . On the same day the U . S . Senate Armed Services Committee on a 16 – 12 vote advanced an identical measure to be included in the Defense Authorization Act . The amended defense bill passed the House on May 28 , 2010 . On September 21 , 2010 , John McCain led a successful ( 56 in favor , 43 opposed ) filibuster against the debate on the Defense Authorization Act . On November 30 , 2010 , the Department of Defense ' s Comprehensive Review Working Group ( CRWG ) on DADT repeal issued its formal report outlining a path to the implementation of repeal of DADT . The report indicated that there was low risk of service disruptions because of repeal of the ban . Gates encouraged Congress to act quickly to repeal the law so that the military could carefully adjust rather than face a court decision requiring it to lift the policy immediately . The United States Senate held two days of hearings on December 2 and 3 , 2010 , to consider the CRWG report . Defense Secretary Robert Gates , Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen urged immediate repeal . The heads of the Marine Corps , Army , and Navy all advised against immediate repeal and expressed varied views on its eventual repeal . Democrats in Congress quickly scheduled hearings to consider repeal of the law . On December 3 , the Joint Chiefs of Staff appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee to testify about repeal . While the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , Chief of Naval Operations , and Commandant of the Coast Guard said repeal would cause minimal disruption , heads of the Army , Air Force , and Marines opposed repeal because it would cause additional stress on combat focused forces during war . On December 9 , 2010 , another filibuster prevented debate on the Defense Authorization Act during the lame duck session of Congress . On December 9 , 2010 , in reaction to the failure to open discussion on the Defense Authorization Act , Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins introduced a bill that included the policy - related portions of the Defense Authorization Act that they considered more likely to pass as a stand - alone bill . " The Washington Post " compared it to a Hail Mary pass . The stand - alone bill was sponsored by Patrick Murphy and passed the House on a vote of 250 to 175 on December 15 , 2010 . On December 18 , 2010 , the Senate voted to end debate on its version of the bill by a cloture vote of 63 – 33 . Prior to the vote , Sen . Lieberman gave the final argument in favor of repealing DADT and Sen . McCain argued against repeal . The final Senate vote was held later that same day , with the measure passing by a vote of 65 – 31 . U . S . Secretary of Defense Robert Gates released a statement following the vote indicating that the planning for implementation of a policy repeal would begin right away , led by Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Clifford L . Stanley , and would continue until Gates certified that conditions were met for orderly repeal of the policy . President Barack Obama signed the bill into law on December 22 , 2010 . Implementation . Following enactment , the Department of Defense charged a committee led by Clifford Stanley to oversee its implementation . Stanley ' s committee commissioned a comprehensive review of current policies , the repeal , and whether the new status quo would be consistent with the goals of , in the words of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates , " military readiness , military effectiveness , unit cohesion , and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces . " On January 29 , 2011 , the Pentagon released its plan for implementing the end of DADT . It called for a three - month period of training for all personnel , beginning in the third quarter of 2011 . President Obama , Defense Secretary Leon Panetta , and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm . Mike Mullen sent Congress the required certification that implementation of repeal would not have negative effect on military readiness and performance on July 22 , 2011 . Full implementation of the repeal occurred 60 days later on September 20 , 2011 . The repeal of DADT did not alter the language of Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice , which bans sodomy by service members . A Senate - approved amendment that would have done so was not included in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 .