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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyMay 27th, 2010
I just watched the floor debate in the House of Representatives over the compromise amendment to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and it could not have been a greater contrast.
Those who seek to keep discrimination in place were angry, blustering, and while they pretended to be supporting the servicemembers, it was clear that their objection was to ending the ban. And it was clear that they wanted to rant, repeatedly requesting more time to express their anger.
On the side in favor of the amendment were military veterans and civil rights leaders speaking about tolerance and the intergrity of the Military and the nation. They provided succint, personal, and heartfelt endorsements.
The House voted to pass the amendment on a mostly party-line vote: 230 – 194.
Only five Republicans voted for the compromise amendment. Twenty-six Democrats voted in opposition. Ten members did not vote (6 Democrats and 4 Republicans).
No doubt some will claim that they voted “no” not out of support for discrimination but because they don’t like the timing, passing the bill before the report is in. Frankly, I think that is weasel-talk.
It is unlikely that Republicans will fillibuster the Defence Authorization Bill, regardless of Sen. McCain’s blustering, and if they do, it is likely that there are sufficient votes to end debate.
This is very tenuous legislation with many caveats, milestones and other things that can go wrong. However, I think that it is not overstating to say that today was the death of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell as the policy for our Military.
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David C.
May 27th, 2010
What we are seeing is the process of dismantling not imploding DADT.
Repeal of the law will revert the situation to the one that obtained before it was enacted 17 or 18 years ago. This is an essential step, and it’s not completed yet—the Senate still has to act.
Once congress completes its work, the matter is handed back to the military, which has been forced by the law to enforce the ban against gay people in the military. During the transition period, the law does not technically exist but requires the military to state that the ban can be lifted without reducing its effectiveness before the policies surrounding what was DADT can be changed and implemented.
The elimination of the law against gays in the military is the key first step. Placing the implementation timeline and policy change into the hands of the military gives the military and the president along with the rest of his administration the freedom to complete dismantling DADT.
The important question of whether or not the president will, during the rest of the Pentagon DADT repeal study, suspend discharges remains open. I believe that during the study, discharges should be suspended and those gay service members that come forward to give information for the study should be exempt from the operation of the then exclusively military policy against gays in the military. To do otherwise is to exclude an important part of the service member population from providing important information needed to conduct a sound and meaningful investigation into the impact of DADT repeal implementation within the military.
The water is still very muddy. The Senate has yet to act, and should repeal pass in the Senate any differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill will have to be worked out before it can go to the President for his signature. There are more hurdles, but I am guardedly optimistic that we are going to see the end of DADT in the next 12 to 18 months.
Lucrece
May 27th, 2010
90%of Democrats voted for DADT repeal.
~1% of Republicans did.
This is the least controversial, most popularly supported gay rights bill that supposedly carried sizable conservative support.
It’s all crap. The Republican Party has long since jumped the shark, and anyone pretending like the gay community can support the GOP is being outright malicious to his own community.
It was such a sad display of the direction the alleged party of individual freedom has taken.
ENDA needs to be passed immediately as well, while we conserve Democratic votes. It’s a pity it won’t include public space accommodations. Separate but equal indeed, since they don’t want to reopen the civil rights code to include sexual orientation.
Mark F.
May 28th, 2010
Well, a hit tip to the GOP members who voted for repeal including Ron Paul. Considering that some polls have shown that many if not most Republican voters support repeal, this is a really odd result. How did the anti-gay people virtually take over this party?
tina
May 28th, 2010
Mark, that is a GREAT question.
Lucrece, your observation made my skin crawl. And, it’s important to keep in mind when I get optimistic- the reality is that we still have HUGE barriers to overcome.
David- good explanation
Richard Rush
May 28th, 2010
When you don’t have reason on your side and you’re losing the debate, throwing a temper tantrum is one remaining tactic.
Come to think of it, screaming “NO!” and throwing temper tantrums have pretty much been the Republican strategy since January, 2009.
Timothy Kincaid
May 28th, 2010
Mark F.
The problem is that the majority of Republicans wan to overturn DADT. But they aren’t all that fired up about it, either way.
The opponents of equility really really care. So they get all fired up in primaries and walk precints and contribute and lobby legislators. Other than Log Cabin, the Republican legislators never hear from anyone who is pro-gay on any issue but lots and lots from the phobes.
Until Republican people, as a whole, say “we don’t want to be known as haters and won’t elect any more bigots”, this will remain a problem.
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