|
DADT Senate advances to historic vote on repealing DADT 63-33
VICTORY for US!
WASHINGTON – The Senate today took a monumental step toward repealing the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prevents gay and lesbian troops from serving openly. In a procedural matter called cloture, the Senate voted 63-33 to limit debate on DADT. A final vote on DADT will be called by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sometime today or soon thereafter. The chances of passage are now greatly improved. During the limited debate this morning, each side reiterated the familiar arguments. Opponents of repeal such as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., tried to convince his colleagues that the world will end if the military stops discriminating against gays and lesbians. Other Republican senators ignored the overwhelming evidence supporting repeal, produced in the Pentagon's exhaustive study of troops, and dug deep to find obscure statistics to justify the continuation of the policy. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., made the most compelling argument for repeal when he noted that the first American soldier wounded during the Iraq War was Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, a gay Marine who lost a leg when he stepped on a land mine. “That mine didn’t care if he was gay or straight,” Levin said. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pointed out that 14,000 gay and lesbian troops have been discharged under DADT, including many linguists who are vital in the war against terror. |
OMG, they had cloture?!? That is amazing! The vote is at 3 PM EST today. Hoping it will be on C-Span.
|
DADT - final vote in Senate happening now. Watching on C-Span 2
|
Quote:
|
Motion passed 65 - 31
|
65-31
Motion to repeal DADT passes! |
Quote:
Quote:
:party: This is great news! |
Today is very big news indeed. One more step toward full equality.
|
Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a great day! I served in fear of being discovered back in the 80's. I marched as part of the Uniformed Color Guard at the March on Washington in 1993 when the theme was to "Lift the Ban on Gays in the Military" and now here we are, 17 plus years later and it is finally a reality!! A huge day in history for GLBT Service Members and Veterans! Glynn |
Good news for the day, DADT gone bye bye :)
|
This is great news....even if I had to look up what cloture meant. Now the part of me that doesnt trust politicians has 2 questions: 1. Anybody have a clue why there was this sudden change in heart? Was there some trade off here? 2. Is there anything that can throw a wrench in this at this point? |
Quote:
President to sign it into law sometime next week. Awaiting military to certify and 60 days to implement. |
More than 13,500 service members have been dismissed under the 1993 law.
"It is time to close this chapter in our history," Obama said in a statement. "It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed." |
If you want to know how your senators voted on the repeal of DADT
State Senator How They Voted AK Begich (D) For Repeal AK Murkowski (R) For Repeal AL Sessions (R) Against Repeal AL Shelby (R) Against Repeal AR Lincoln (D) For Repeal AR Pryor (D) For Repeal AZ McCain (R) Against Repeal AZ Kyl (R) Against Repeal CA Boxer (D) For Repeal CA Feinstein (D) For Repeal CO Bennet (D) For Repeal CO Udall (D) For Repeal CT Dodd (D) For Repeal CT Lieberman (I) For Repeal DE Carper (D) For Repeal DE Coons (D) For Repeal FL LeMieux (R) Against Repeal FL Nelson (D) For Repeal GA Chambliss (R) Against Repeal GA Isakson (R) Against Repeal HI Akaka (D) For Repeal HI Inouye (D) For Repeal IA Grassley (R) Against Repeal IA Harkin (D) For Repeal ID Crapo (R) Against Repeal ID Risch (R) Against Repeal IL Durbin (D) For Repeal IL Kirk (R) For Repeal IN Bayh (D) For Repeal IN Lugar (R) Against Repeal KS Brownback (R) Against Repeal KS Roberts (R) Against Repeal KY Bunning (R) Did Not Vote KY McConnell (R) Against Repeal LA Landrieu (D) For Repeal LA Vitter (R) Against Repeal MA Brown (R) For Repeal MA Kerry (D) For Repeal MD Cardin (D) For Repeal MD Mikulski (D) For Repeal ME Collins (R) For Repeal ME Snowe (R) For Repeal MI Levin (D) For Repeal MI Stabenow (D) For Repeal MN Franken (D) For Repeal MN Klobuchar (D) For Repeal MO Bond (R) Against Repeal MO McCaskill (D) For Repeal MS Cochran (R) Against Repeal MS Wicker (R) Against Repeal MT Baucus (D) For Repeal MT Tester (D) For Repeal NC Burr (R) For Repeal NC Hagan (D) For Repeal ND Conrad (D) For Repeal ND Dorgan (D) For Repeal NE Johanns (R) Against Repeal NE Nelson (D) For Repeal NH Gregg (R) Did Not Vote NH Shaheen (D) For Repeal NJ Lautenberg (D) For Repeal NJ Menendez (D) For Repeal NM Bingaman (D) For Repeal NM Udall (D) For Repeal NV Ensign (R) For Repeal NV Reid (D) For Repeal NY Gillibrand (D) For Repeal NY Schumer (D) For Repeal OH Brown (D) For Repeal OH Voinovich (R) For Repeal OK Coburn (R) Against Repeal OK Inhofe (R) Against Repeal OR Merkley (D) For Repeal OR Wyden (D) For Repeal PA Casey (D) For Repeal PA Specter (D) For Repeal RI Reed (D) For Repeal RI Whitehouse (D) For Repeal SC DeMint (R) Against Repeal SC Graham (R) Against Repeal SD Johnson (D) For Repeal SD Thune (R) Against Repeal TN Alexander (R) Against Repeal TN Corker (R) Against Repeal TX Cornyn (R) Against Repeal TX Hutchinson (R) Against Repeal UT Bennett (R) Against Repeal UT Hatch (R) Did Not Vote VA Warner (D) For Repeal VA Webb (D) For Repeal VT Leahy (D) For Repeal VT Sanders (I) For Repeal WA Cantwell (D) For Repeal WA Murray (D) For Repeal WI Feingold (D) For Repeal WI Kohl (D) For Repeal WV Manchin (D) Did Not Vote WV Rockefeller (D) For Repeal WY Barrasso (R) Against Repeal WY Enzi (R) Against Repeal I'm kinda feeling like sending handmade valentines this year to those who voted for the repeal and maybe for those who abstained too. |
My Senators are Boxer and Feinstein, and my Rep is Woolsey; it's generally not necessary to check a list to see how they voted 'cause they tend to do the correct thing :thumbsup:
I should probably drop a couple thank you notes... |
I live in Texas so I don't generally have to look to know they probably did the incorrect thing. :/
|
2010 Census Increases Red States Congressional Seats
According to Census Bureau data released Tuesday morning, Texas will gain 4 congressional seats. Florida will gain 2 seats. Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, Utah, Washington and Nevada will each gain an additional congressional district.
New York and Ohio will each lose two congressional seats. Eight states will lose one congressional district in reapportionment: Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan and New Jersey. http://www.politico.com/arena/ The population shifts to Republican-leaning states are clearly good news for the GOP. |
I demand a recount......
|
Fresh Off ‘Don’t Ask’ Win, Gay-Rights Groups Look Ahead
By Bennett Roth Dec. 20, 2010, 6:05 p.m. The repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy” has boosted the spirits of gay-rights activists, but it is not expected to bolster the rest of their legislative agenda, which likely will hit roadblocks in the 112th Congress. Lobbyists for gay-rights organizations say that next year they will focus on unfinished business including employment nondiscrimination legislation, providing domestic partnership benefits to federal workers and repealing the Defense of Marriage Act. But they are not optimistic that Republican leaders in the House will push through their issues. “I don’t think they will go negative on us. I just think they will not do anything to bring about positive change,” said Fred Sainz, the vice president for communications and marketing for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest gay-rights organization. Some of the activists’ priorities, such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, have been lingering for years. The House passed a version of ENDA in 2007, but a revised measure that included protections for transgendered people did not make it out of committee this year. Sainz said his group will focus more on executive branch agencies to pursue equality issues for gay people as well as lobbying at the state level for passage of laws allowing gay marriage. Outside the legislative arena, HRC is pushing more companies to enact gay-friendly policies, such as domestic partner benefits. R. Clarke Cooper, president of the Log Cabin Republicans, said GOPers have made it clear they will focus more on fiscal rather than social issues next year. But he added that Republicans may be receptive to legislation that deals with taxes, such as extending tax breaks on health benefits for partners of employees. Cooper cited as progress the fact that many Republicans have become more comfortable with having gay advocates in their midst, noting that his group participated in the Young Guns events spearheaded by GOP House leaders during the 2010 midterm campaigns. Cooper also said he has met several times with Speaker-designate John Boehner (R-Ohio), including having his first conversation with the leader at a fundraiser at the Capitol Hill Club. “He said, ‘Not everyone can be a Susan Collins or Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,’” said Cooper, referring to two socially moderate Republicans, the Maine Senator and Florida House Member, who voted for the repeal. Cooper said Log Cabin agreed to help raise money and work on behalf of certain Republican candidates. In return, Cooper said, he asked that Republican leaders convey to social conservatives in the party that “if they had nothing nice to say about gays and lesbians that they say nothing at all.” And a number of conservative Republicans, including Rep. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.), surprised gay activists in their support of the DADT repeal. The Log Cabin Republicans had also successfully sued in federal court in California to overturn the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Cooper said that his group would likely wait to drop the suit until after the Pentagon completes its implementation of the new policy, which could take months. Before the repeal is officially dropped, the president, the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff must certify that the military is ready for the change. Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which has been active in pushing for the repeal, said his group will now pivot to monitoring the certification process. Sarvis added that the Pentagon should not prolong the next stage. “They’ve had 10 months to work on these things,” he said. In the past year, gay-rights lobbyists have spent much of their time and financial resources on fighting to repeal the Clinton-era policy banning openly gay people from serving in the military. HRC spent $3.5 million on its lobbying efforts, the most ever for any advocacy campaign spearheaded by the association, Sainz said. He added that the Senate’s approval of the repeal should bolster the group’s fundraising among donors who might otherwise have been dispirited if the measure had failed. Raising money, however, will be more difficult for groups whose mission has been primarily advocating on behalf of gay members of the military. “This will definitely change the fundraising calculus for us,” said Alex Nicholson, the executive director of Servicemembers United, a group that advocates on behalf of gay soldiers. Nicholson said about half the group’s funds come from gay foundations. But he added that his group will still play a major role providing support for gay military members, who now may feel more free to join such an association. Nicholson, who tangled with some of the other gay-rights groups, said the lobbying campaign was challenging. Part of the difficulty, he said, was having to “cut through the inter-organizational politics.” “Various groups can be vicious sometimes,” he said, referring to arguments about “who’s going to stand next to whom.” Other gay-rights lobbyists, however, complained that Nicholson, who criticized Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for his strategy, was often impolitic in his public comments. There were also disputes among gay-rights groups over whether celebrities such as Lady Gaga helped their cause by publicly lobbying for the repeal. Despite the lobbying challenges, gay activists see the final results as historic. “I liken what happened on Saturday to the Berlin Wall coming down,” Sainz said. http://www.rollcall.com/news/-201746-1.html |
I do not trust republicans, even log cabin ones.
|
| All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:03 AM. |
ButchFemmePlanet.com
All information copyright of BFP 2018