"Don't ask, don't tell" repeal pushed back again
Published: May 27, 2010
Gay rights groups may be getting closer to a successful vote to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” but the actual start date for when gay troops can serve openly in the ranks keeps getting pushed back further.
Late last night House and Senate leaders added a new twist to the proposed repeal measure up for vote in both chambers this week. The latest change would add a 60-day waiting period after the Pentagon’s review panel finishes its work, allowing extra time for Defense officials to react and prepare for the cultural changes a repeal could bring.
The review is scheduled to end on Dec. 1, so the new 60-day wait would put a formal repeal on hold until the end of January 2011. That language, requested by West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd, is designed to secure more swing votes in both chambers for what’s expected to be a close debate over the next two days.
Repeal advocates say Byrd’s decision to back the plan with the new changes bring the total number of backers in the Senate Armed Services Committee to 16, one more than needed for passage.
In the House, Pennsylvania Rep. Patrick Murphy has nearly 200 co-sponsors for his stand-alone repeal bill (216 are needed for House passage), and has said several more lawmakers have privately promised to back a repeal measure when it’s brought to the floor.
Meanwhile, opponents of a repeal are scrambling to try and convince those swing votes to vote against the repeal measure, calling it a rushed solution to a non-existent problem.
In letters to lawmakers this week the International Conference of Evangelical Christian Endorsers said repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” could cripple the chaplains corps, either by forcing many out of the military or creating conflict with their beliefs.
RELATED
HASC chairman will not vote for DADT repeal
Dec. 1 key date in 'don't ask, don't tell' debate
Military kicked out fewer gay troops in 2009
Due to a switchover to a new comment system, this comment board is now closed.
