Senate panel votes end to 'don't ask, don't tell'

[Kerrytravelers]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate Armed Services Committee has voted to repeal the 1993 law known as "don't ask, don't tell" and allow gays to serve openly in the military.

The 16-12 vote endorses an end to the Clinton-era policy under which gays could serve in the military only if they don't disclose their sexual orientation.

The full House planned to take an identical measure later Thursday or Friday.

House Republicans were strongly against it, citing letters from armed services chiefs urging Congress to wait until the Pentagon completes a study of the impact of the repeal on military life and readiness.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GAYS_MILITARY?SITE=ILMOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Divine Discontent]

1. About damned time we read this... Thank you Senate Panel!

KICK!

[Omaha Steve]

2. R #4

[Unvanguard]

3. 16-12 is +1 from what we were hearing yesterday. Who switched? n/t

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

4. yahhh !

[pinto]

5. Kick

:kick:

[Nuclear Unicorn]

6. Senate Panel Votes to Repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Policy

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday voted to let the Defense Department repeal the ban on gay men, lesbians and bisexual people from serving openly in the military, a big step toward dismantling the Clinton-era policy widely known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” as part of the annual Pentagon policy bill.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/politics/28tell.html

---

:fistbump:

[Fridays Child]

7. Right along party lines (sigh), except for Collins. n/t

[msongs]

8. it is NOT a vote to repeal - it is a vote to let the Bush military tell Obama what to do ...

If the Bush generals and the Bush secDef say no repeal it will not be repealed. and if the BUsh generals say repeal it, it can be put off forever if they want Cuz obama will do what they tell him IMO.

Msongs

[Nuclear Unicorn]

9. Just because I don't get everything I want when I want it exactly how I want it

....doesn't mean I stop fighting.

The fact is: we gained ground, they lost ground. I'm not going to stop now.

And if McCain and his comic relief had won we wouldn't even have this.

I also believe this momentum will carry through to exactly where we need to be as a nation.

This is not a time for pouting.

[Cha]

24. Good post! nt

[peacebird]

10. How did Webb vote?

from his website it sounds like he is against repeal of DADT:

Senator Webb Statement on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Vote
May 27, 2010

Senator Webb, chairman of the Armed Services Committee Personnel Subcommittee, issued the following statement today following his vote against an amendment that would repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” prior to the completion of the Department of Defense (DOD) comprehensive review:

"Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen have both stated that military men and women in all services and at all levels should be engaged as the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is reviewed. For this reason, in February DOD instituted a comprehensive review process that they viewed to be important in their roles as the senior leaders of the Department of Defense. The Obama Administration agreed with the importance of this process in its letter of May 24, stating that ‘ideally the Department of Defense Comprehensive Review... would be completed before the Congress takes any legislative action.’

"DOD reaffirmed this position in a statement on May 25: ‘Secretary Gates continues to believe that ideally the DOD review should be completed before there is any legislation to repeal the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law...’ The chiefs of all four military services also concur in this view.

"I agree with this viewpoint. I have met personally with the officials in charge of this review, and communicated my own observations regarding the comprehensive survey that will be a part of this review. I see no reason to pre-empt the process that our senior Defense Department leaders put into motion, and I am concerned that many members of the military would view such a move as disrespectful to the importance of their roles in this process."

[Tx4obama]

11. The count before the vote

YES -16
Daniel Akaka (HI)
Evan Bayh (IN)
Mark Begich (AK)
Jeff Bingaman (NM)
Roland Burris (IL)
Susan Collins (ME)
Kay Hagan (NC)
Ted Kaufman (DE)
Carl Levin (MI)
Joe Lieberman (CT)
Claire McCaskill (MO)
Bill Nelson (FL)
Jack Reed (RI)
Mark Udall (CO)
Robert C. Byrd (WV)
Ben Nelson (NE)

NO - 12
Scott Brown (MA)
Richard Burr (NC)
Saxby Chambliss (GA)
Lindsey Graham (SC)
Jim Inhofe (OK)
George LeMieux (FL)
John McCain (AZ)
Jeff Sessions (AL)
John Thune (SD)
David Vitter (LA)
Jim Webb (VA)
Roger Wicker (MS)

I think it stayed the same.

[Hestia]

13. Do NCO's have that much input as to operations of DoD & Pentagon? Really?

[Divine Discontent]

17. well, Jimmy... we find it disrespectful that OUR military has thousands of Gays in it who serve

honorably and have DIED for their country in countless numbers, and you think it'll hurt their poor wiwull feewings if we don't let them have another half year to bastardize and delay this...


so yeah, Jimmy Webb showed what he thinks about equality, when it's all over the fricking world showing him that openly Gay folks do not destroy cohesiveness in a way that justifies DADT

[defendandprotect]

12. BS ... how many studies have already been done? Repugs have worn this one threadbare -- !!!

And what will the CIA do without the ability to harass and ensnare and just generally

smear people -- including many leaders they've made up stories about!!??

[mzmolly]

14. A step in the direction

of progress. :toast:

[BolivarianHero]

15. Why the fuck should we wait for the Pentagon?

Clinton should have had a gun their heads demanding that this was taken care of the day that he came to office. They had no business stalling, and waiting for them is ludicrous when we have decades of data on the issue of LGBT military personnel from all over the world.

[Fearless]

16. Better late than never... This better get finished... VERY soon.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

18. Nice to have a little good news...

We need to keep up the phone calls to our reps...

[Divine Discontent]

21. Yes, good news, finally. Hope it continues. Pres. Obama gets some credit for this when it's all

over, because, even though I know, and we all know that he could make a presidential commander-in-chief move on DADT, the next CIC could come in come and make their own decision to bar Gays yet again, so he has put it squarely on the Congress - and it's hopefully - hopefully - hopefully, going to pay off.

Unfortunately, grumpy ol' McCain has said he'll filibuster the bill that has this in it - but hopefully he'll fall asleep or be told he's a bigot by his Gay-marriage supporting wife or daughter, and back down.

Several countries have openly Gay servicemen and women, and they do not mess up cohesion - it's such a lame-o excuse to for those then in the U.S. to hide their bigotry behind.

[pinto]

19. And the House passed their bill to repeal.

:thumbsup:

:thumbsup:

[Cha]

23. Oh great! nt

[Betty Karlson]

33. It's a start... N/T

[ccharles000]

20. good k/r

[Cha]

22. Well, it's good start! nt

[NuttyFluffers]

25. positive steps, good!

let's see this to conclusion! :7

[MarshalltheIrish]

26. This is surreal

I had prepared myself to wait a long, long time to see this repealed, and all of a sudden it's being voted on in a week.

Too bad McCain wants to "keep the danged fence" on it.

[lakercub]

27. Good news

and definitely a step in the right direction. I am also happy that Obama didn't do this unilaterally and is making congress do it. An executive order would have worked but could have been rescinded by a later president. If congress takes care of this, it has more teeth. Also, while there is still plenty of homophobia out there and a vote against repealing DADT may not yet be political suicide, I want everyone in congress to have to vote on this so posterity can show who was for equal rights and who was a bigot.

My major complaint is that we even have to do a study. Why do we need to study whether bigotry is good or bad? I should think that answer is obvious.

[Lerkfish]

28. thank gawd

[valerief]

29. Great news. However, it looks like DADT is being transferred to the BP disaster.

Don't ask BP about it, because they won't tell you the truth about it.

[IronLionZion]

30. VIDEO: House Approval of Repeal

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/politics/2010/05/28/bts.dont.ask.dont.tell.vote.housetv

[Politicub]

31. Great news! Nice to see something like this after a rough week

Of course, I would have loved to have seen the policy liften immediately, but I'm happy it's being pushed through.

[Bluenorthwest]

32. Jim Webb voted with the Republicans

And thus, he becomes part of the past. Is he still coming to the Hill with guns, this sexist, homophobic creature?