That's the million dollar question that does not have a clear answer in an Amendment to the Defense Authorization bill, that some doubt will lead to a full repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.
Lt. Dan Choi said in a statement, "My question still remains, and I've yet to find anyone who signed off on yesterday's compromise able to give me a direct answer to, "When exactly will the discharges stop?," said Lt. Dan Choi, an openly gay Iraq war veteran and Lieutenant in the United States Army. "Until the President signs the papers that fully and immediately end the firing of patriotic, gay and lesbian service members, then there is no cause for celebration and no reason to trumpet mission accomplished for a job not yet done.
"My concern here is for my fellow soldiers serving in uniform and how this law will affect them. We've heard a lot of talk about how this compromise can work politically, but on the day this passes Congress, no one has been able to explain how this will have any impact at all on those of us serving in uniform. Unfortunately, we have been handed an imperfect, eleventh hour compromise with no viable alternative," continued Choi.
GetEqual co-founder Robin McGehee echoed Choi's discontent with a so-called compromise for a repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell tepidly approved by the Obama Administration on Monday. She said, "After a year and a half of mostly inaction, the White House has offered our community a compromise that is movement forward on repeal, but unfortunately not nearly enough for those service members - some who stood handcuffed with us and faced arrest beside us at the White House - living under the shadow of this out-dated, immoral law," said Robin McGehee, "Together, our collective voice has moved the White House from a place of absence to involvement. However, we didn't invest ourselves to this cause, nor spend nights under arrest in a jail cell for a compromise. President Obama, we won't stop until you stop the immoral firing of our brothers and sisters in the military so that their integrity is restored, their jobs are secured and their families are recognized."
The watered down amendment does not offer a full repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell within a guaranteed time frame, nor does it include a non-discrimination policy that gay and lesbian soldiers could use during less "friendly" administrations.
Many in the community share the concerns of Get Equal, Choi, and others. The President clearly promised he would be a "fierce advocate" for the Lesbian and Gay communities, but as his Presidency continues, I can't help but wonder if he is a "reluctant advocate."