Lieberman to introduce DADTE repeal bill

On Feb. 22, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) announced that he would soon be introducing a bill in the U.S. Senate to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The 1996 law has since prohibited LGBT servicemembers from serving openly and has allowed for their discharge if they are found to be gay or lesbian.
The revelation of Lieberman's plans came by way of an interview given to James Kirchick for an article published by the New York Daily News. "I have been asked by both the White House and by advocacy groups within the gay rights community to be the lead sponsor, and I'm glad to do it," Lieberman is quoted as saying.
Momentum for the repeal has been building in recent weeks after President Barack Obama announced at his first-ever State of the Union address that he would work to repeal the law this year. "This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are," Obama said during his State of the Union address. "It's the right thing to do."
Last month, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that they now support repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law as long as the Pentagon could first do an implementation management analysis before full repeal goes into effect. Admiral Mullen also mentioned that he would like to see a subsequent transition period over which the policy change could be phased in.
In addition, Congress is currently working to determine whether or not the repeal will disrupt the forces when it is applied.
Servicemembers United, the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans and their allies, enthusiastically lauded the news of Lieberman's planned introduction.
"This is yet another historic step for the movement to repeal the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law and a welcomed moment for the tens of thousands of men and women who continue to be impacted by this unnecessary and outdated law," said Alexander Nicholson, a former U.S. Army Human Intelligence Collector who was discharged under DADT and serves as the executive director of Servicemembers United. "We are exceedingly proud of the courage and leadership that Sen. Lieberman is showing, and we strongly urge the White House and the Democratic leadership in Congress to proactively support Senator Lieberman's forthcoming bill."
In response to the opportunity presented by this historic testimony, Servicemembers United recently resurfaced its "Set End-date / Delayed Implementation" model for repeal legislation and made the case for the introduction and adoption of such legislation in 2010. The proposal would see to it that full repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law gets locked in this year while also allowing the Pentagon time to complete it's analysis.
Additionally, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee could insert Sen. Lieberman's new bill into the chairman's mark of the Fiscal Year 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, which will soon be drafted. Such a move, especially in combination with the Presidential action through Pentagon policy transmittals, could turn out to be the path of least resistance for repeal of the DADT law and could help shield vulnerable members of the President's and the chairman's own party.
Servicemembers United's "Set End-date / Delayed Implementation" repeal plan can be found at http://www.servicemembersunited.org/2010plan. For the latest information on polling, statistics, studies and other archival information related to DADT, visit http://www.dadtarchive.org.