Senate Blocked Military Gay Ban Debate

Added by James Morley on September 22, 2010

An important policy goal belonging to President Barack Obama was blocked yesterday, only to further delay the modification of the law through which homosexuals would be able to serve openly in the US military.

The debate needed 60 votes from senators in order to pass, but only managed to get 56 pro-votes and 43 votes against. Robert Gibbs, spokesman of the White House, said that the administration is ‘not being able to proceed on the legislation,’ but that it is going to keep trying. Senators such as Joe Lieberman, an independent and a repeal co-sponsor, said the debate might still be able to pass in the future: ‘We didn’t win today, but we can win this fight this year.’

The vote also blocked the policy known as the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy that has been on the list of Democrats in Congress for quite a long time. Obama’s Democrats hoped to scrap the policy before the Republicans could gain even more grounds after the new elections in November.

Ever since 1993, homosexuals have been allowed to serve in the military if their sexual orientation remained hidden. If they were open about their sexual orientation or discovered, the soldiers ended up being kicked out of the military, and ever since the 1993 policy approximately 14,000 soldiers have been expelled because of this law.