Here’s the roll call on the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell vote in the House last night. There were few surprises on either side (really, Gene Green?). The President issued a statement after the votes in the House and Senate last night:
I have long advocated that we repeal ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’, and I am pleased that both the House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee took important bipartisan steps toward repeal tonight. Key to successful repeal will be the ongoing Defense Department review, and as such I am grateful that the amendments offered by Representative Patrick Murphy and Senators Joseph Lieberman and Carl Levin that passed today will ensure that the Department of Defense can complete that comprehensive review that will allow our military and their families the opportunity to inform and shape the implementation process. Our military is made up of the best and bravest men and women in our nation, and my greatest honor is leading them as Commander-in-Chief. This legislation will help make our Armed Forces even stronger and more inclusive by allowing gay and lesbian soldiers to serve honestly and with integrity.
Obama correctly terms this a step “toward repeal,” though he headlines the statement about “Votes to Repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” I don’t expect specificity from the press corps, but it’s a crucial point. The work to repeal hasn’t ended, and won’t end when the President signs the defense authorization bill into law. In fact, it won’t end until the day the President, Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs certify the implementation plan. That cannot happen earlier than February 1, 2011, so we have a long road ahead. Aubrey Sarvis of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network speaks to this in his statement. I want to highlight that opening paragraph:
“The Senate Armed Services Committee passed a historic roadmap to allowing open military service, but it doesn’t end the discharges. It is important for all gay and lesbian, active-duty service members, including the reserves and the national guard, to know they’re at risk. They must continue to serve in silence under the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law that remains on the books. Congress and the Pentagon need to stay on track to get repeal finalized, hopefully no later than first quarter 2011. The bottom line: gay and lesbian service members remain at risk for discharge and cannot serve openly.
“Chairman Carl Levin and Senator Joe Lieberman showed remarkable courage and steadfastness in the face of unprecedented and inappropriate last minute lobbying by the Pentagon service chiefs who seemed to have forgotten that they are not the policy makers here. That role in our government rightly belongs to Congress and it was properly exercised today, and is being exercised now as the full House debates to dismantle ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’
“Repeal is moving forward with the support of the President and the Pentagon, including JCS Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. The repeal amendment allows for legislative action that respects the ongoing work by the Pentagon on how to implement open service for lesbian and gay service members. Nothing would happen until the Pentagon Working Group completes its report and the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the President certifies repeal.”
If the response to the passage of the legislation is a bunch of gay and lesbian soldiers coming out and getting discharged, the consequences would be highly negative. SLDN speaks to the need for educating the military rank and file about this measure, and for constant vigilance from the gay rights community to ensure follow-through and an end to discrimination in the armed forces.
Credit is due, incidentally, to the Representative from my hometown, Patrick Murphy, who mustered 234 votes yesterday, as well as Carl Levin and (as much as it dogs me) Joe Lieberman.
