DADT Repeal: Iraq Vet Takes the Lead in Congress

[ProSense]

DADT Repeal: Iraq Vet Takes the Lead in Congress

by Brandon Friedman

As momentum builds toward an eventual repeal of the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" law, Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), the first Iraq veteran elected to Congress, has now assumed the lead in sponsoring the bill.

"It is vital to our national security," Murphy said last week in his first interview since taking over the lead on the so-called Military Readiness Enhancement Act. "We have troops that are fighting in two wars ... and we need every qualified able-bodied individual who is able to serve."

The legislation, which has 150 co-sponsors in the House, would repeal the "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy, which Congress approved in September 1993 and bars the military from discriminating on the basis of a service member’s sexual orientation. More than 13,000 military personnel have been discharged for being gay since the law was enacted.

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This morning, Murphy sent out an email to his supporters with more details:

In less than an hour, we will officially announce that I am taking over as the chief sponsor for The Military Readiness Enhancement Act -- the bill that will finally repeal the policy known as "Don’t Ask,Don’t Tell." I have been speaking out against for many years against "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" -- first as an ROTC cadet, then as a professor at West Point, and later as a candidate and a congressman. To now take the lead on such an important piece of legislation is an honor and a privilege beyond words.

This is going to be a busy day full of meetings and interviews. We’ll even be launching a new website dedicated to this issue: LetThemServe.com. But before it all got started I wanted to thank you for giving me the opportunity to stand up and fight for the values we all believe in. I couldn’t do this without you, and I’ll never forget that.

So, to sum up, here’s where we stand on this issue:

•69 percent of Americans support a repeal of the DADT law.

•The Commander-in-Chief has "asked the secretary of defense and the joint chiefs of staff to develop a plan for how to thoroughly implement a repeal."

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[SeattleGirl]

1. Good deal!!

I think it's great that a vet is taking the lead on this.

[ProSense]

2. It's excellent news. n/t

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. Excellent!

:thumbsup:

[Cha]

4. Thank you, Congressman

Patrick Murphy!

[Politicub]

5. This is great! Time to finally get rid of two of the most odious pieces

of legislation from the Clinton era (DADT and DOMA). This isn't to say they're the only pieces of garbage legislation from the 90's - I would put NAFTA at the top of the list along with "welfare reform."

[PopSixSquish]

6. "All the way!"

Representative Patrick Murphy is a former member of the 82nd Airborne and winner of a Bronze Star. He also taught Constitutional Law at West Point.

Interestingly, he's also a "Blue Dog" Democrat which will might help bring along some of his breathern...

[SpartanDem]

7. Finally some leadership from Congress.nt

[Swede Atlanta]

8. While they are related......

This thread is about DOMA. It would be great it you open this as a new article on DADT so they don't get intermingled. They are related in terms of the rights of gay and lesbian Americans but the issues are different.