July 19, 1993: President Bill Clinton signs into law his measure allowing gay people to serve in America's armed forces, known as "Don't ask, don't tell." In other words, gay people could serve in the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard, and couldn't be dishonorably discharged just for being gay. No person, officer or enlisted, could ask any other person if they were gay.
The reason gay people were not allowed to serve is that a closeted gay person could be compromised by being "outed," and thus become a security risk. As long as there was a military draft, people would tell their draft board that they were gay, and would be exempted -- but this would then be publicly revealed, and, under the laws of the time, they could be fired from their civilian jobs and find it hard to find new ones.
At the time, liberals called "DADT" a huge step forward by a great progressive new President, while conservatives called it an abomination. After the Republicans swept the 1994 Congressional and gubernatorial elections, many observers on both sides blamed the Democrats' defeat on Clinton focusing on "gays in the military" so early in his Administration. Paul Shanklin, a comedian who did impressions on The Rush Limbaugh Show on radio, did a version of The Beatles' "Yesterday" by singing, as Clinton, "Yesterday, all my troubles started with the gays."
By the time Clinton left office in 2001, liberals were still calling DADT a good idea, but progressives were denouncing it as just another one of Clinton's half-a-loaf measures, since he was too chicken to go after the full load. Conservatives were still calling it an abomination.
In 2011, President Barack Obama provided the other half of the loaf, removing all restrictions against gay and transgender military personnel. Conservatives called that an abomination.
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July 19, 1993 was a Monday. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-2 at Yankee Stadium. Scott Kamieniecki went the distance for the win, while former Yankee Tim Leary didn't get out of the 2nd inning. Bernie Williams and Pat Kelly hit home runs. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4.
* The New York Mets beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. This was in the middle of the Padres' "fire sale." Charlie O'Brien led off the top of the 10th inning with a home run. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4 with the Padres' only RBI.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the California Angels, 8-6 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-5 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Cal Ripken went 1-for-3 with an RBI. George Brett, in his final season, had an RBI single as a pinch-hitter.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-0 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Cards got 2 home runs from Brian Jordan, and 1 from Mark Whiten.
* The Florida Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-1 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.
* The Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-4 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox, 15-7 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Nolan Ryan gained the 321st win of his career. He would have 3 more. Robin Yount, also in his final season, went 2-for-4, including his 249th career home run. He would have 2 more.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Montreal Expos, 6-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Barry Bonds went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
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