The campaign to overturn the ban on military service by open homosexuals gained two major congressional victories Thursday that increased its likelihood of success.
The House of Representatives voted 234-194 late Thursday for a proposal to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that has been in force by federal law since 1993. Earlier, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved reversal of the policy in a 16-12 vote.
Both votes came on amendments to an annual Department of Defense authorization bill, which the House passed 229-186 Friday. The Senate will not take up the legislation before June.
A filibuster is available to senators who oppose reversing the ban. Some Republican members have said they would support a filibuster of the authorization bill because of the amendment's inclusion, but the chances of such an effort succeeding are unknown.
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" prevents homosexuals from serving openly but also prohibits military commanders from asking service members if they are homosexual or about their "sexual orientation."
Source: Baptist Press
Comments |  RSS |
|
