Speaker Pelosi Pledges Vote On Don’t Ask Repeal This Year

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

There will be a vote on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell this year. This is according to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Drew Hammill, a Pelosi spokesperson, told DCAgenda “It is the Speaker’s intention that a vote will be taken this year on ['Don't Ask, Don't Tell'] in the House.” What this could signal is that the repeal of DADT, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, is likely to win passage. With the midterm elections looming, the LGBT vote may be important enough to the Democratic party that they will move on a number of issues relating to the LGBT community including MREA and ENDA. Some Republicans, including Scott Brown, may be more than willing to abandon their party on this issue in order to try and shore up the LGBT Community’s support for their party and try to peel off some votes from the Democrats.

The Human Rights Campaign’s Michael Cole stated with regards to this statement “As we’ve been saying for a long time now, the time to repeal the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law is this year, and it’s a positive sign to hear congressional leaders affirm that. We need pressure on the Congress, we need pressure on the White House, we need pressure across the board, and as we get into this critical period, signs like that are promising,”

Indeed, the signs are promising that there will be, at least, a vote, and a problem for the Republican Party if they filibuster it, or attempt to.

Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, indicated that he had learned of the vote last week while speaking with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. “The hour for the president as well as for the leadership to become engaged is now. The reality is — particularly in the Senate Armed Services Committee — we are still short of some critical votes. We don’t have the votes today. We’re on the brink of getting them, and we need help from leadership on the Hill and from the president himself,” Sarvis stated.

Current polling shows that the majority of Americans support the repeal of DADT.

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