In yet another step in the ongoing bid to have "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" wiped from America's legislation, the US House of Representatives has voted to overturn the ban on gay men and women openly serving in the military. The bill, which was a standalone, passed 250 to 175 in a virtual party-line vote in the Democrat-dominated House and will now go to the Senate. A repeal of the ban has been passed in the House before as part of a large defence spending bill, but it did not pass in the Senate. It needs 60 votes to succeed and there are 58 Democrats in the Senate, so they need to convince at least two Republicans to support the bill. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows there continues to be widespread public support for ending the ban, with 77 percent of Americans surveyed saying gay and lesbian soldiers who publicly disclose their sexual orientation should be able to serve in the military. The support cuts across partisan and ideological lines, with majorities of Democrats, Republicans, independents, liberals, conservatives and white evangelical Protestants in favour of gay men and women serving openly.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 16th December 2010 - 12:38pm