In recent years, GaN and its alloys have been the subject of an intense global research effort to develop its optoelectronic properties in the blue-green region of the spectrum. Of particular interest has been the fact that despite a high density of threading dislocations, on the order of 108 to 1010 per cm2, thin film devices retain their ability to emit light. The origin of this behavior remains unclear, and it has even been suggested that reducing the number of defects by employing different growth techniques does not necessarily increase the crystal's lasing abilities. As research is now aiming to grow GaN on silicon (silicon has a large lattice-mismatch to GaN) in order to develop an inexpensive LED technology, dislocations are likely to remain a major issue. It is therefore essential that we develop a fundamental understanding of the electronic structure of these defects, in order to determine their effect on the properties.