Earlier today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D - Nev.) reaffirmed his commitment to bring the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' to a vote in a rapidly dwindling lame duck session of Congress. Advocates for the repeal fear that an uncharacteristically full lame duck legislative agenda may bump 'DADT' from the "priority" list, leaving the issue unresolved in this session.
If that happens, legislators would have to re-introduce the bill during the next session - and with the GOP having made such decisive gains in the mid-term elections, the likelihood of repeal will diminish greatly.
Gay and lesbian military service members, activists, and community representatives have been pushing for repeal over the past two year with one of the most united and strategic efforts in the history of the politicized gay rights movement. Unfortunately, a previous attempt to bring the legislation to a floor vote in the Senate last September was thwarted when the Republican caucus blocked consideration of the National Defense Authorization bill - of which, the repeal of 'DADT' is a provision. Senator Reid said Republicans blocked consideration of the entire bill in September because they don't have sufficient votes to remove the 'DADT' provision on the Senate floor.
There are some indications the President Obama is still pushing for the repeal of 'DADT' before lawmakers adjourn for the year. However, those recent comments have come from staff who only spoke to the media on the condition of anonymity - little has been said on the matter by President Obama in the past couple of weeks.
If 'DADT' is not repealed during before the close of business this year, the likelihood of repeal prior to the next Presidential election drops precipitously. When you consider that 'DADT' is one of the least contentious LGBT policy issues (compared to other agenda items like gay marriage, anti-discrimination, gay parental rights, etc.), President Obama may have very little upon which to hang his hat when trying to court the gay vote during his reelection campaign. The gay community has been patient with him, but two more years with so many promises, and so few victories will not likely sit well when we hit the polls. What are your thoughts?
