United States House Of Representatives Again Votes To Repeal Military Policy Prohibiting Openly Gay Service Personal; Majority Leader Reid Says Senate Vote Not Likely Until Next Week

Wednesday, the United States House of Representatives approved a stand-alone bill to repeal the military policy prohibiting openly gay service members by a vote of 250-175. That 75 vote margin is wider that a similar vote in May, the Washington Post reporting that 15 Republicans voted for the bill and 15 Democrats voted against. President Obama, who has long championed a repeal of the soon to be 18 year old policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” said the ending the current military ban “is not only the right thing to do, it will also give our military the clarity and certainty it deserves. We must ensure that Americans who are willing to risk their lives for their country are treated fairly and equally by their country.” The vote Wednesday sends the bill back to the Senate, where a vote, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat-Nevada), will not occur until next week at the earliest. The bill’s language is identical to that which appeared in an 800-page defense authorisation bill that was passed by the House in May, but the bill failed a procedural vote in the Senate last week, forcing the House to vote again on a new measure to end the ban. Senators Joseph Lieberman (Independent-Connecticut) and Susan Collins (Republican-Maine) introduced the new bill last week, its co-sponsors Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Democrat-Maryland) and Representative Patrick Murphy (Democrat-Pennsylvania), who believed that the House needed to vote on the bill first to allow the Senate to consider it quickly as a privileged resolution regarding fewer days of debate. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he hoped the Senate would quickly pass the bill, Pentagon spokesperson Geoff Morrell saying Gates believes that doing so would allow the Defense Department “to carefully and responsibly manage a change in this policy instead of risking an abrupt change resulting from a decision in the courts.” Senator John McCain (Republican-Arizona), the most visible vigorous opponent of repeal, did not comment on Wednesday’s vote.