Lawmakers might tack 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repeal on to defense bill (CNN)

By Ed Hornick and Evan Glass, CNN
January 15, 2010 5:58 p.m. EST

... Part of the reason for including it in the spending bill is that supporters don't have enough votes to pass a separate measure repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell: the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009 ...

Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida is the only member of her party to join 186 Democrats in signing on to the readiness act.

The reality caused supporters to rethink their strategy, and they are now likely to attach the measure to the spending bill, the aide said ...

Moran's letter requests that Gates' office provide all Don't Ask, Don't Tell data from January 1, 2009, until the present by Friday ...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/15/gays.military.bill/

Judging by progress made this week, it looks increasingly like Don't Ask, Don't Tell could be repealed this year as part of the defense authorization bill. On Tuesday, Sam Stein reported that White House officials and Democratic members of Congress are already drumming up support for legislation that would allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. Now, the Pentagon is seriously discussing the repeal in anticipation of a potential Senate hearing on the subject later this month. The simple fact that talks are even happening is encouraging, but there's still some foot-dragging on the Pentagon's behalf ...

The concern over "appropriate timing" really appears to be the only argument the military has left against DADT, and it's hardly a strong one. It's worth going back to a paper by Col. Om Prakash published this fall in the Pentagon journal Joint Force Quarterly, which determined that "after a careful examination, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that unit cohesion will be negatively affected if homosexuals serve openly. ... Based on this research, it is not time for the administration to reexamine the issue; rather it is time for the administration to examine how to implement the repeal of the ban" ...

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=01&year=2010&base_name=more_movement_on_dont_ask_dont

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