U.S. House Vote Spells Demise of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

clipped from www.hrcbackstory.org Moments ago the House of Representatives voted to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” paving the road to the end of the 17 year old law.  This historic action follows a vote for repeal in the Senate Armed Services Committee and is a tremendous step toward finally ending the ban on openly lesbian and gay service members.  It was the first vote ever in the U.S. House of Representatives to repeal the ban on open service. Said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese: “Lawmakers today stood on the right side of history. This is a historic step to strengthen our armed forces and to restore honor and integrity to those who serve our country so selflessly.”

With successful House passage of the amendment, the final NDAA bill must be passed in both the House and Senate and the two versions reconciled before being sent to the President for his signature. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Penn. was the lead sponsor of the measure in the House and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., championed the amendment in the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier today.