Minnesota wants to thank everyone for their hard work on bringing DADT to the closest point of repeal to date. Last night the Senate reached a cloture vote 63-33 (more than the required) to bring the measure to its final vote.
The Senate Bill 4023- “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 – Provides for repeal of the current Department of Defense (DOD) policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces, to be effective 60 days after the Secretary of Defense has received DOD’s comprehensive review on the implementation of such repeal, and the President, Secretary, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) certify to the congressional defense committees that they have considered the report and proposed plan of action, that DOD has prepared the necessary policies and regulations to exercise the discretion provided by such repeal, and that implementation of such policies and regulations is consistent with the standards of military readiness and effectiveness, unit cohesion, and military recruiting and retention. Provides that, until such time as the above conditions are met, the current policy shall remain in effect”
With the support of Susan Collins (R-ME), relatively newly elect Scott Brown (R-MA), and other bi-partisan members of the senate, we can now set our sights on the final hurdle of the repeal. The final vote must reach 51 votes to pass (House of Representatives passed it with a vote of 250-175) and will swiftly pass to the desk of President Obama who has vowed to sign it as soon as he gets it.
Log Cabin Republicans have taken a very aggressive approach to accomplish what we have thus far including:
* Bringing the main Federal Lawsuit Log Cabin Republicans vs. The United States to trial and getting it heard by the Supreme Court.
* Pressuring the Executive branch and the President to agree to help in the repeal process
* and lobbying Republicans in the House and Senate to sponsor and/or vote for a repeal measure.
After the bill passes and is signed by the President, our fine GLBT men and women, who have been unjustly, discharged will celebrate this victory with the right to change their discharge status and seek the benefits righfully owed to them for the service they so courageously provided to their country!
For additional information on DADT and real-time press releases, please visit LogCabin.org
