Sexual orientation and the United States military

The United States military formerly excluded gay men, bisexuals, and lesbians from service, though this is no longer the case. Transgender people have also been allowed to openly serve since June 30, 2016. In 1993, the United States Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed a law instituting the policy commonly referred to as "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) which allowed gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve as long as they did not reveal their sexual orientation. Although there were isolated instances in which service personnel met with limited success through lawsuits, efforts to end the ban on openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual people serving either legislatively or through the courts initially proved unsuccessful.

In 2010, two federal courts ruled the ban on openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual service personnel unconstitutional and on July 6, 2011, a federal appeals court suspended the DADT policy. In December 2010, The House and Senate passed and President Barack Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 and, under its provisions, restrictions on service by gay, lesbian, and bisexual personnel ended as of September 20, 2011.

To train the new American Army in the latest military drills and tactics, General George Washington brought in Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730–94), who had been an officer on the German General staff. Von Steuben escaped Germany where he was threatened with prosecution for homosexuality. He joined Washington's army at Valley Forge in February 1778 accompanied by two young aides. Steuben became an American general, and a senior advisor to Washington. Despite rumors about his parties, there never was an investigation of Steuben and he received a Congressional pension after the war.

The first evidence of antipathy to homosexuals serving in the United States military dates from March 11, 1778, when Lieutenant Frederick Gotthold Enslin was drummed out of the Continental Army following his conviction at court-martial on charges of sodomy and perjury.

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