Seals of the U.S. Military - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.
President Barack Obama is expected to sign the repeal on the U.S. military’s ban on openly gay servicemen and women on Wednesday.
The U.S. Senate on Saturday voted to get rid of the 17-year-old policy, meaning it was ready to go to the president’s desk for his signature. However, it will still be several months before the full policy takes effect.
The bill calls for the president and his military advisors to certify that changing the military’s policy will not hinder the military’s ability to fight. That will be followed by a 60-day waiting period.
The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal means that for the first time, gay men and women can be open about their sexual orientation and not risk being kicked out of the armed services.
Since the policy became law in 1993, more than 13,500 service members have been dismissed under its provisions.
“It is time to close this chapter in our history,” Obama said in a statement. “It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed.”
The Senate’s vote was 65-31 in favor of repeal, with eight Republicans joining 2 independents and 55 Democrats to get the bill passed. The House passed the bill earlier in the week, 250-175.
Supports called the Senate vote a huge victory for gay rights and brought up comparisons to President Harry Truman’s executive order in 1948 to desegregate the military.
“The military remains the great equalizer,” said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. “Just like we did after President Truman desegregated the military, we’ll someday look back and wonder what took Washington so long to fix it.”
The repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy under the U.S. military is another win for the Democrats under the Obama Administration with the compromise of the tax and unemployment legislation signed late last week.
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