Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Headed for a Vote
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid postponed a test vote Wednesday while he worked on a deal with Republican Senator Susan Collins, but he earlier said he believed he could get the 60 votes needed to end the military’s ban on openly gay soldiers. Collins, meanwhile, said any effort to end the ban before the Senate decided whether to extend tax cuts for the wealthy would fail, TPM reports. Seventy percent of Americans favor ending the ban on openly gay soldiers. Lawmakers looking to dodge the issue have said that a vote should wait for the results of a Pentagon review. That review has since concluded that the risks of ending don’t ask don’t tell are low and “The reality is that there are gay men and lesbians already serving in today’s U.S. military and most service members recognize this. … Much of the concern about open service is driven by misperceptions and stereotypes about what it would mean.”
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on December 8, 2010. Filed under