Submitted by ONE Community on December 3, 2010 - 1:49pm
By LEO SHANE III Stars and Stripes Published: December 2, 2010
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans continued their opposition to repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” law on Thursday, attacking the Pentagon’s new study as shortsighted and lacking the real views of military personnel.
Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and a former Vietnam prisoner of war, has led the chorus of anti-repeal arguments and implored his colleagues again during the first of two days of hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“I am not saying this law should never change,” he said. “I am simply saying that it may be premature to make such a change at this time and in this manner … without further study of the issue by Congress.”
At the opposite end of the debate was Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who recounted having served alongside gays during Vietnam without any detriment to the mission. He said the study only confirmed what he had long suspected, that gays could be allowed to serve openly with minimal disruption.
“And so what was my personal opinion is now my professional opinion,” he said. “I would not recommend a repeal of this law if I did not believe in my soul that it was the right thing to do for our military, for our nation and for our collective honor.”
Submitted by ONE Community on May 25, 2010 - 1:25pm
In a dramatic development that makes prospects for a congressional vote on repealing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy significantly more likely in the Pentagon budget authorization bill currently under consideration, the White House has given its blessing to a compromise amendment by Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Independent Democrat, laying out a path to ending the 17-year-old ban on open gay and lesbian service.
In a letter to Lieberman released by the White House on the evening of May 24, Peter Orzag, director of the executive Office of Management and Budget, wrote, “The Administration is of the view that the proposed amendment meets the concerns raised by the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”
The Lieberman amendment, which will be taken up
Submitted by ONE Community on March 23, 2010 - 1:23pm
A Dutch officer has rebutted the testimony of a retired U.S. Marine general before the Senate Armed Services Committee in which he suggested that the officer partially blamed service by out gays in the Dutch military for one of the worst massacres on European soil since World War II.
During last week’s hearing on the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, former NATO commander Gen. John Sheehan told committee members that a former Dutch defense chief of staff, Gen.
Submitted by ONE Community on February 3, 2010 - 2:39pm
WASHINGTON — The nation’s top two defense officials called Tuesday for an end to the 16-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” law, a major step toward allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the United States military for the first time.
“No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens,” Adm.
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Submitted by ONE Community on February 2, 2010 - 6:27am
Peter S. Green Peter S. Green – Tue Feb 2, 12:00 am ET
Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama’s top two military leaders will brief a Senate panel today on the administration’s efforts to lift the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy toward homosexuals in the armed services.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has already been working with Obama on how to implement the change should such legislation pass Congress and will discuss the issue at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said last week.
Submitted by ONE Community on July 30, 2009 - 3:58pm
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A key U.S. Senate committee will hold a hearing on the military's controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays and lesbians, according to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat.
A New York senator says the Senate Armed Services Committee will take up "don't ask, don't tell."
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold the hearing in the fall, she said in a written announcement.
A committee spokeswoman confirmed that there will be hearings but that no specific legislation is under consideration.
"Don't ask, don't tell" is the policy that prevents openly gay troops from serving in the U.S. military.
Former President Clinton instituted it in 1993 as a way of loosening restrictions on gay men and lesbians serving in the armed forces, but its opponents say it does not go far enough.
" 'Don't ask, don't tell' is an unfair, outdated measure that violates the civil rights of some of our bravest, most heroic men and women," Gillibrand said in her statement. "By repealing this policy, we will increase America's strength -- both militarily and morally."
A Dutch officer has rebutted the testimony of a retired U.S. Marine general before the Senate Armed Services Committee in which he suggested that the officer partially blamed service by out gays in the Dutch military for one of the worst massacres on European soil since World War II.
During last week’s hearing on the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, former NATO commander Gen. John Sheehan told committee members that a former Dutch defense chief of staff, Gen.
WASHINGTON — The nation’s top two defense officials called Tuesday for an end to the 16-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” law, a major step toward allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the United States military for the first time.
“No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens,” Adm. 