Press Advisory:

August 4, 2005

Contact: Gary Gates, PhD

Senior Research Fellow

The Williams Project

UCLA School of Law

This month, Gary J. Gates, Senior Research Fellow, at the Williams Project, estimated the possible affects of lifting the U.S. military's "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" policy. Gates estimates that by lifting the policy the U.S. Armed Forces could raise their numbers by nearly 41,000 men. He also estimates that even with the current policy, over 14,500 gay men are serving on active duty.

Q: What do you think would happen to the service rates of gay men if the prohibitions of the "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" policy were lifted in the U.S. Armed Forces?

Gates: I suspect that the service rates of gay men would begin to more closely resemble those of other men.

Q: How many gay men are currently serving in the military?

Gates: My estimates suggest that approximately 1.2% of men on active duty are gay¹. That means that there are currently 14,576 gay men on active duty.

Q: How many more gay men might serve if their service rates mirrored the service rates of other men?

Gates: As of September, 2004, there were 1,214,680 men on active duty². If gay men had service rates similar to other men, it would mean that the proportion of gay men among men in the military would be the same as that in the population. Studies suggest that between 2 and 7 percent of adult men are gay. These estimates vary based on how you define who is gay, by an individual's reported behavior, sexual desires, or self-identification as gay. Using a mid-point estimate, if 4% of adult men are gay and that figure held among those on active duty, then there would be 48,587 gay men or an additional 34,011 gay men among men on active duty.

Q: What about service in the National Guard and Reserve forces?

Gates: With regard to the guard and reserve, my estimates are that 3% of men in the guard/reserve are gay³. This implies that there are 22,265 gay men in the guard/reserve. But if the proportion gay were the same as in the population, meaning service rates of gay men and other men do not differ, that figure would rise to 29,210, meaning an additional 6,945 gay men in the guard/reserve forces. All told, this would mean that if lifting DADT would raise the portion of gay men in the military to that within the population then the military could raise their numbers by nearly 41,000 men.