2:15 pm on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 may prove to be a time stamp in history that our children and grandchildren will be learning about in school. It is the official time that voting begins to determine if the Senate will proceed with consideration of the National Authorization Act, the defense bill containing the amendment to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). To proceed 60 Senate votes in favor must be obtained. For those in support of eliminating the DADT policy this news may incite a sense of excitement, but one must be wary.
The decision was made after Senator John McCain, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, objected to "non-national defense" debate by democratic senators. This maneuver resulted in Senator Harry Reid, a leader in the fight to repeal DADT, to file cloture. This brought the debate to an abrupt end. Although Senator John McCain recently stated he has no position on DADT, it is apparent that this was a sly maneuver to silence the voices of those trying to reinstate and uphold the rights of LGBTs in the United States. Let's not forget that earlier this year in the Republican primary, Senator McCain seemed steadfast in his opposition to DADT repeal, but now his tune has changed. Could this "change of heart" be a ploy to win votes in the general election against his democratic opponent? I'll let you be the judge. That being said, all Senators in favor of repeal should step lightly and not give the opposition any ammunition they can use to destroy DADT repeal. By speaking to amendments that don't fall under national defense, Senator Reid practically handed Senator McCain the special invitation to force early filing of cloture.
“I want to make one thing very clear: I do not oppose or support the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ at this time, but I do oppose taking legislative action prior to the completion of a real and thorough review of the law,” McCain said. “A complete survey to evaluate the impact of repeal on the men and women serving in our military should be concluded before moving forward.” (Washington Blade)
I agree with Senator McCain on the point that before taking legislative action one must do their due diligence, but not when it is so obvious that the law in affect is ridiculous and denies citizens equal rights. After reading Senator McCain's statement of why he doesn't "oppose or support the repeal of 'Don't Ask Don't Tell'" I had to ask myself why is it that our government must 'evaluate the impact of repeal' on our military service men and women'? Let me set up a quick scenario in order to prove a point. Unfortunately in today's society many people still blame Islam for the horrible terrorist attacks that our country has suffered instead of blaming the very few radicals who use Islam as a shield to hide behind for their actions against humanity. I can guarantee that we can find military service men and women who hold this belief, but yet do we have to evaluate the impact of allowing Muslims to serve side by side with those who do not agree with their religion? As far as I know, no we don't. Yes, their are Muslims "whose presence in the armed forces would create an unacceptable risk", just as there are Christians who pose unacceptable risk. Yes there are homosexuals "whose presence in the armed forces would create an unacceptable risk", just as there are heterosexuals who pose an unacceptable risk. It is not the religion nor the sexuality that make these people a risk. So how is it that we must 'evaluate the impact of repeal'? A homosexual or bisexual military service man or women is not a threat to those they serve with. Homosexuality and bisexuality is not a disease that is going to infect the military. Sexuality does not change trustworthiness in a combat zone. Sexuality does not make you who you are. The threat does not come from the homosexuals and bisexuals, but from the few ignorant military service men that are not accepting. If someone is to be discharged then it should be those suffering from this ignorance.
Only after a successful vote for cloture on Tuesday will opponents of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy have the opportunity to filibuster, strike repeal, or cripple the anti-DADT amendment. According to Senator Reid, debate over the defense bill and its attached amendments will likely continue until the Senate breaks for recess in early October. Whether this is a positive expectation or not is up for debate. It is all a game of balancing. On one hand this could give those in support of DADT repeal time to persuade swing senators to forgo support of filibusters, strikes to repeal, or actions to cripple the DADT repeal amendment. On the other hand, this could allow those in opposition to talk the amendment to death by stripping away any language that even resembles support for repeal. One way that we as citizens can help is to continue to contact our state Senators to let them know we support DADT repeal and to ask them to stand with Senator Harry Reid.
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