Lady Gaga Leads "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Rally in Maine

Recording artist Lady Gaga speaks at a rally in support of repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gay service members, in Portland, Maine, on Monday, Sept. 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)

PORTLAND, Maine (CBS/AP) Lady Gaga stopped in Maine Monday, but she had a message for lawmakers, rather than music fans.

On the eve of a key Senate vote, she urged the state's two U.S. senators to help repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays.

Pictures: Lady Gaga

More than 2,000 people attended a rally Monday at Portland's Deering Oaks Park, where the pop star railed against the 1993 policy prohibiting service members from revealing if they're gay.

Lady Gaga said the policy allows straight soldiers who harbor hatred toward gays to fight for their country. She suggests a new policy:"If you don't like it, go home."

The rally was organized by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. The organization is trying to pressure Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and Scott Brown of Massachusetts to vote to allow a repeal of the policy.

[exanimateerika]

This has really made me respect Lady Gaga more, not as a singer or performer, but as a person.

[magnumdr]

This person knows nothing about anything. How can the media even give her any coverage on this issue, it dosent know what it even is. I don't understand how a person like this deserves any media coverage! How old is this thing 25 going on 10.

[magnumdr]

This person knows nothing about anything. How can the media even give her any coverage on this issue, it dosent know what it even is. I don't understand how a person like this deserves any media coverage! How old is this thing 25 going on 10.

[Forbus56]

When it comes to Lady Gaga...my policy:

Don't know.
Don't care.

[Forbus56]

When it comes to Lady Gaga...my policy:

Don't know.
Don't care.

[kansas1946]

It's nice to see some positive activism. I am sick of the tea-baggers negative rhetoric.

[smitvict]

So being against DADT is positive -

And being against higher taxes, more regulation and out of control government spending is negative.

You must be a liberal.

[smitvict]

So being against DADT is positive -

And being against higher taxes, more regulation and out of control government spending is negative.

You must be a liberal.

[us_1776]

Go Lady Gaga!

But it's more than just "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

We need to end all the discrimination based on sexual-orientation.

A person's sexual orientation is a part of their nature. In every group of mammals there is always some segment of the population that is gay. It is part of nature.

We should not discriminate against anybody because of their sexual-orientation.

Same-sex couples should enjoy the same rights as straight couples.






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