Minorities Disproportionately Discharged For 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Violations

Minorities Disproportionately Discharged For ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Violations

The military threw out hundreds of service members in 2009 for violating its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, including a disproportionate number of women and minorities and dozens of service members in “mission critical” positions, according to a new analysis of military data.

The Pentagon honorably discharged 428 service members for violating the gay ban in 2009, according to statistics reviewed by the Palm Center, a nonpartisan University of California think tank studying the impact of gays in the military. The figure is down from 619 discharged for violating the policy in 2008.