Senate Votes 63-33 To Take First Step To End Military Policy Prohibiting Openly Gay Service Personal; Final Vote Scheduled For 3:00 PM Saturday

The Senate, in a rare Saturday session, voted 63-33 to invoke cloture, and advance debate on a measure that allows President Obama to end a 17 year old President Clinton-era military policy prohibiting openly gay service personal, reports the Washington Post. The procedural vote was bipartisan – six Republicans voted in favour of repeal: Scott Brown (Massachusetts), Susan Collins (Maine), Mark Kirk (Illinois), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Olympic Snowe (Maine), and George Voinovich (Ohio). Four senators, including Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) did not vote. A final vote will be held at 3:00 pm today. Under the ban known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” more than 13,000 men and women have been discharged from the military because of their sexuality. If the bill passes Saturday afternoon, the ban on gays in military does effectively end, and military officials and gay activists continue to warn that gay men and lesbians on active duty should not make public their sexual orientation until the law if officially repealed. According to the proposed legislation the issue would rest entirely with President Obama and top military leaders. Obama, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen must inform Congress in writing that they have reviewed the findings of a Pentagon study regarding an end to ban and that the Defense Department has drafted the policies and regulations necessary to end the law. Those changes must not impact troop readiness, cohesion or military recruitment and retention, according to the law. Once the written notice is submitted, 60 days must elapse before "don't ask, don't tell" is officially repealed. During the two-month window, legislators are likely to hold hearings to review the Pentagon's policies and procedures for accepting openly gay and lesbian troops. The White House and the Pentagon have not discussed a specific timetable for ending the ban, but Gates said this month that he expects Obama "will be watching very carefully to ensure that we don't dawdle or slow-roll on this.''