Senate Votes to End "Don´t Ask, Don´t Tell"

The United States Senate on Saturday joined the U.S. House of Representatives in repealing "Don´t Ask, Don´t Tell," the discriminatory policy that prohibited lesbians and gays from serving openly in the military. Both the Senate and the House voted overwhelmingly in favor of the repeal, with a number of Republicans joining Democrats in the historic vote. The House passed the bill 250 to 175 on Wednesday and the Senate passed the bill 65 to 31.

President Obama has promised to sign and implement this policy change, which is supported by top Pentagon and military officials and almost 80 percent of the nation´s military personnel. The bill will allow American soldiers, sailors and other service members to cease having to hide their sexual orientation in order to join and remain in the nation´s uniformed armed forces. "As Commander in Chief, I fought to repeal ´Don't Ask, Don't Tell´ because it weakens our national security and military readiness." the President said. "It violates the fundamental American principles of equality and fairness."

The vote caps two weeks of frenetic, roller-coaster activity. Last week, the Senate voted for the second time against allowing debate to begin on the National Defense Authorization Act, to which DADT repeal was attached. As a result, Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced a stand-alone repeal bill in the Senate. This Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a stand-alone DADT bill sponsored by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Representative Patrick Murphy (D-PA). That bill was advanced to the Senate and voted on today.

The United States joins over 50 nations that allow lesbians and gays to serve openly, including Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The repeal was also supported by the majority of the nation´s top military brass, including members of the U.S. Joint Chief of Staff.

"No more witch hunts, no more serving in fear," said Molly McKay, of Marriage Equality USA. "This is a day to celebrate a long overdue victory – but it is also important to recognize that the journey to equality is just beginning. We appreciate the extra efforts of Congressional members to extend this simple gesture of kindness and dignity to the LGBT service members and their families just in time for Christmas and we are hopeful that they will continue the momentum to eliminate marriage discrimination so that their families can enjoy the same benefits and protections as all other military families."

Marriage Equality liaison Tyson Redhouse added, "Today, our leadership stood on the right side of history and 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is on its way out after 17 years. Since the policy's enactment our nation has witnessed the discharges of over 14,000 men and women who took the Oath to stand up and serve their country. We've seen the military let thousands of specially-skilled service members go, and we've seen many more endure the incredible stress of serving in silence. Today, we are seeing a great measure of hope given to those who have been impacted by this unjust and unnecessary policy. Don't Ask, Don't Tell cost this nation more than it should, and we are finally on the verge of seeing that ended."