"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to Get Senate Vote Next Week

AP

The Senate next week will vote on a Defense Department authorization bill that includes language to roll back "don't ask, don't tell," the policy that prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will bring the legislation to the floor after the Senate finishes work on a small business bill, Politico reports.

If passed, the Senate legislation would have to be combined with the House version -- the House voted on "don't ask, don't tell" in May -- but even then, the policy would not be completely repealed. First, President Obama would have to certify a Pentagon review of how repealing "don't ask, don't tell" would impact troop morale. The report is due Dec. 1, and the Defense authorization bill simply gives the Defense Department authority to act on its findings.

"It does not repeal 'don't ask, don't tell' -- I wish that it did," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) told Politico.

Nevertheless, gay rights advocates see this month's vote as a critical step in moving toward a repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." Gay rights groups are aggressively lobbying Congress this week ahead of the Senate vote, the Washington Post reports.

The Senate may need 60 votes to begin debate on the Defense authorization bill, since Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has reportedly threatened to filibuster it. McCain reportedly objects to a number of elements in the bill, including the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal.

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Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com. You can read more of her posts here. Follow Hotsheet on Facebook and Twitter.

[digrawg]

I look forward to the day when sexual deviants are allowed to adopt children and serve openly in the military. I can't believe that anyone would condemn or oppose this! I am in the Navy and I want our homosexuals to be free to tell us about their sexual deviation and I want them to be loud and proud! I want to be able to look around me and 24/7 on a 6 month deployment and take comfort in knowing that the people who I'm working closely with and sharing living quarters with are sexual deviants. I want them to be able to walk around on the boat all day long proclaiming their deviation for me and all of my fellow honorable servicemembers to hear, including the Captain, the Commodore and all of the marines on the boat! I will not rest until sexual deviants are practicing their deviation openly, loud and proud, in full military uniform. Dear God please get them into the service. And to those of you that are in the service having to conceal your sexual deviation; thank you for your service! We're gonna make sure you can be open, it might take some more work, but we'll make it happen!!! God bless you guys

[kingWue]

Ask Reid what else he has in this bill, the Dream act, so the taxpayers can pay for illegals to have a college education.

[retm-w]

Doubtful it will pass, since reid is playing his usual game of attaching other things to it that have nothing to do with the bill at all.