DADT Repeal: Gay Rights Have Come a Long Way

Gay rights victories, like today’s repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” are inevitably linked to Stonewall, the 1969 riots that launched the modern-day LGBT movement. But 41 years ago, few gay activists would have expected that enlisting in the military would become such a major test of equality. Back then, gays wanted to get out of enlisting so they wouldn’t have to go to Vietnam, and the country in general was at its peak of anti-war sentiment.