Why did President Clinton sign the conservative National Defense Authorization Act of 1994 and Defense of Marriage Act 1996?
The relevant provision of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1994 concerned the issue of gay men and lesbians serving in the United States armed forces. During his victorious 1992 election campaign, Bill Clinton pledged to end the ban against gay men and lesbians from serving in the military, arguing that it was outdated and discriminatory.
After taking office, however, Clinton encountered significant opposition to his proposals from the military top brass as well as Congress. During Congressional hearings, a number of senior generals such as Colin Powell and H. Norman Schwarzkopf testified against allowing gay men and lesbians into the military, claiming that it would undermine the cohesion and combat effectiveness of the armed forces by creating division.
It soon became clear that Clinton's original proposals would not get through Congress, so the President came up with a compromise, which became known as "don't ask, don't tell." The new...
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policy, which was incorporated into the National Defense Authorization Act of 1994, stipulated that gay men and lesbians would be allowed to serve in the military as long as they didn't acknowledge their sexual orientation through word or deed.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996 defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman and allowed states to refuse or recognize same-sex marriages. Though criticizing the act as "divisive and unnecessary," President Clinton nonetheless signed it into law.
Under the circumstances, he didn't have much choice. Congress, which was controlled by the Republican Party, had passed the bill with a majority big enough to override a presidential veto. (In fact, most Democrats in Congress also supported the bill.)
Furthermore, Clinton argued that in signing the bill into law, he was defusing the momentum for an amendment to the United States Constitution banning same-sex marriage. Whereas DOMA could eventually be overturned without too much difficulty, the same could not have been said for a Constitutional amendment.
Why did President Clinton sign the conservative National Defense Authorization Act of 1994 and Defense of Marriage Act of 1996?
The National Defense Authorization Act of 1994 stated that homosexual acts would destroy unit cohesion in the armed forces. The Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 denied same-sex couples the benefits granted to couples of the the opposite sex. Why did president Bill Clinton consent to these measures? There are several explanations.
First, the presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) moved the entire country to the Right. This movement was profound and persists—in a somewhat diminished way—even today.
Second, Clinton's mandate was weak. He won only 43% of the popular vote in the election of 1992.
Third, Clinton was willing to compromise. The Whitewater investigations weakened him politically. Also, the 1994 midterm elections were a great defeat for Democrats. The investigation and electoral defeat chastened Clinton's liberal tendencies.
And finally, public opinion was not in favor of marriage equality during the Clinton administration. This has changed: a 2019 poll indicated that 61% of Americans support same-sex marriage.