by BTL staff
Lady Gaga addresses the crowd at the #4the14k Rally in Portland, Maine. Photo: Terry Richardson
National reporter Rex Wockner contributed to this report
Buoyed by a federal court ruling declaring the military gay ban unconstitutional on Sept. 9 and by Lady Gaga's aggressive adoption of the cause of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal at MTV's Video Music Awards on Sept. 12, gay advocates stepped up their push Sept. 13 for the full U.S. Senate to vote on DADT repeal this month.
Hours later, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced that he was planning a vote on the defense spending bill, of which DADT repeal is a part. However, on Sept. 21 the Senate failed to garner the votes to break the filibuster created by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a staunch opponent of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
The cloture vote needed 60 votes, but only obtained 56. When the repeal effort will be up for vote again is unclear. The repeal measure has already passed the House of Representatives.
"Today's Senate vote was a frustrating blow to repeal this horrible law," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. "We lost because of the political maneuvering dictated by the mid-term elections. Let's be clear: Opponents to repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' did not have the votes to strike those provisions from the bill. Instead, they had the votes for delay. Time is the enemy here."
Sarvis suggested activists' next move: "We now have no choice but to look to the lame duck session where we'll have a slim shot. The Senate absolutely must schedule a vote in December when cooler heads and common sense are more likely to prevail once midterm elections are behind us. Servicemembers Legal Defense Network will continue to take this fight to the American people, the vast majority of whom support repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'"
If the defense budget bill slides into the lame-duck session, many Republicans have suggested they will agree only to a "continuing resolution" to keep the Defense Department funded. That would kill the version of the bill that contains the repeal of DADT.
"If the defense budget bill doesn't move to the Senate floor by the end of September, DADT repeal may not happen for several more years," said SLDN. "If Republicans take back the House in November, as many are beginning to predict, SLDN doesn't see (John) Boehner (who would become speaker) pushing a vote on DADT next year."
Even if DADT repeal passed and President Barack Obama signs it, nothing could have happened right away because language in the bill delays repeal until three things take place: the Pentagon completes a study by Dec. 1 on how to implement DADT repeal; Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen certify that the military will not be harmed by implementing DADT repeal in accord with the Pentagon's plans; and 60 additional days pass after the certification.
