Senate passes ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal legislation

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force hails the U.S. Senate’s passage today of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal legislation.

Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey says:

Today’s vote is the critical strike against ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and toward creating a path that could end in lesbian, gay and bisexual people being able to serve openly, honestly, and to great benefit of our country. We celebrate this important victory and thank all the senators who supported fairness today. We are on the brink of making history. An end to ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ cannot happen soon enough. This arcane and costly policy has destroyed thousands of careers, wasted much-needed dollars, and failed to enhance our nation’s security. We are now poised to end this travesty once and for all, as the Senate today joined with the three-quarters of Americans who already believe ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ must go. People from every background, every faith, every community across the country know that qualified, patriotic Americans willing to risk their lives by serving in the military should be able to do so, free of discrimination. When full repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is implemented, our nation will honor the principles of fairness and justice that it holds so dearly. We urge President Obama to act swiftly to sign this historic bill.

While we celebrate today’s historic victory, it is important to remember that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is still in effect and as the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network warns, it is not yet safe for servicemembers to come out.