House votes to repeal military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy
The House of Representatives voted 234 to 194 Thursday night to repeal the military's 17-year-old policy that prohibits gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the nation's armed forces.
The historic House vote followed the Senate Armed Services Committee voted [sic] 16-12 to end former President Bill Clinton's 1993 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve in the military but subjects them to expulsion if their sexual orientation becomes known.
"Discrimination against gays and lesbians takes a very real toll on our national security," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said before the vote. "Many of the arguments spoken in favor of the exclusion and expulsion of gays and lesbians from our military have been heard before — when they were used to justify segregation."
Supporters of repealing the "Don't Ask" say that 13,500 service personnel have been dismissed from the armed forces under the policy. In the early stages of the Iraq war, 320 people who spoke languages like Arabic and Farsi were expelled because of their sexual orientation, Hoyer said.
The House and Senate debates occurred despite the concerns of the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, who don't want Congress to vote on repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" until the Pentagon completes a study on the impact of the proposed changes by December.
However, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a group at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado on Wednesday that he was comfortable with the legislation.
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The historic House vote followed the Senate Armed Services Committee voted [sic] 16-12 to end former President Bill Clinton's 1993 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve in the military but subjects them to expulsion if their sexual orientation becomes known.
"Discrimination against gays and lesbians takes a very real toll on our national security," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said before the vote. "Many of the arguments spoken in favor of the exclusion and expulsion of gays and lesbians from our military have been heard before — when they were used to justify segregation."
Supporters of repealing the "Don't Ask" say that 13,500 service personnel have been dismissed from the armed forces under the policy. In the early stages of the Iraq war, 320 people who spoke languages like Arabic and Farsi were expelled because of their sexual orientation, Hoyer said.
The House and Senate debates occurred despite the concerns of the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, who don't want Congress to vote on repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" until the Pentagon completes a study on the impact of the proposed changes by December.
However, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a group at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado on Wednesday that he was comfortable with the legislation.
Read more: