BREAKING: Senate panel votes to end ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
The Senate Armed Services Committee has just voted to allow the Defense Department to repeal the 1993 ban on gay and lesbian people from serving in the military.
According to the New York Times, it was a 16-12 vote in a closed session, after about an hour-long “vigorous” debate.
The House is expected to vote on the measure either tonight or Friday.
Republicans were strongly against repealing it. They citied letters from armed services chiefs that strongly recommended that Congress wait until the Pentagon’s study on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is complete.
The measure includes a provision that the ban could not be lifted until December 1st, when the Pentagon completes a review to ensure that the repeal would not affect military readiness.
WATCH LIVE: The House Debate on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
(Photo: vbprogressives)
