"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal Blocked in Senate

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, speak to reporters on gays in the military, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010, at the Pentagon.

/ AP

Updated 5:46 p.m. Eastern Time

Senate Republicans have blocked a bill that would allow for repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy banning gays from serving openly in the military.

Fifty-seven senators voted to move to debate on the bill, while 40 opposed it. Because of the filibuster role, 60 votes were needed to move forward.

The repeal provision was included in a defense bill lawmakers have been arguing over for months. The House already cleared the path for repeal, and there are 60 senators in the Senate who say they support repealing the 1993 policy.

But some Republicans who say they support repeal, including Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, voted against moving forward based on procedural objections.

Immediately after the vote, Independent Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins said they planned to introduce a freestanding bill to repeal the policy, providing a glimmer of hope to advocates of legislative repeal this year. They could introduce the bill as early as today.

Lieberman said that while Thursday's vote was a setback, "it ain't over till it's over." He promised to "keep fighting until the last moment of this session."

If the standalone bill gets through the Senate, it will still have to go to the House before moving to the president's desk for signature.

Immediately following the vote, Lieberman and Collins, joined by Democratic Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado, questioned why Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid held the vote when he did not have 60 votes to move forward.

Collins was the only Republican to vote for the motion, while Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin opposed it. Republican Sens. Sam Brownback and John Cornyn and Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln did not vote.

Collins had opposed moving forward on procedural grounds but changed her mind after negotiating with Reid on amendments to the bill and time for debate. But other Republicans who have signaled openness to repeal -- among them Brown, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Sen. John Ensign of Nevada and Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio -- declined to follow suit.

Lieberman said Reid has promised to bring up his stand-alone bill for a vote before the lame duck session ends. 

President Obama released a statement saying he was "extremely disappointed" in the vote and encouraging the lawmakers to revisit the issue before the end of the year. 

"This law weakens our national security, diminishes our military readiness, and violates fundamental American principles of fairness, integrity and equality," he said.

With Republicans taking over the House and gaining votes in the Senate in the new Congress, legislative repeal appears unlikely in the new session. The issue continues to be litigated in the courts, and it was briefly overturned earlier this year. 

A Pentagon survey this year found that while there are short-term challenges to repealing the policy, there would be minimal overall risk to military effectiveness if it were to be repealed.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force called the vote "a huge disgrace and disservice to our country."

"People from every background, every faith, every community across the country know that qualified, patriotic Americans willing to risk their lives by serving in the military should be able to do so, free of discrimination," Executive Director Rea Carey said in a statement.

Senate Republicans have objected to considering any measures in the lame-duck session before the Bush-era tax cuts are extended and the government is funded. 

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the military's top uniformed officer who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have called for Congress to repeal the ban, as has President Obama. Gates has warned that not doing so amounts to rolling the dice on a court-mandated repeal that would not give military leaders the time they need to effectively implement new policy.

A CBS News poll earlier this month found that 69 percent of Americans believe gay men and women should be allowed to serve openly in the military. 

The defense bill also included a military pay raise, expanded health care benefits for service-members and funding for weapons programs and missions in Afghanistan. Reid released a statement shortly before the vote calling on Republicans to "stop hiding behind process and support our troops."

"The other side may feel passionately that our military should sanction discrimination based on sexual orientation, but they are clearly in the minority. And they have run out of excuses," he said, pointing to support for repealing the policy among top military commanders, members of the military and the public.

"And there is simply no evidence and no justification - legal, military or otherwise - for keeping this policy in place," he added. "There is no reason to keep American citizens from fighting for the country they love because of whom they love."

The provision in the defense bill would have allowed for repeal once military leaders, including President Obama, certify that it would not be disruptive. Gates has suggested that even if Congress repeals the policy it could be years before repeal goes into effect, since the military would engage in training and deal with the issues brought on by repeal before instituting the policy change. 

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Brian Montopoli is senior political reporter for CBSNews.com. You can read more of his posts here. Follow Hotsheet on Facebook and Twitter.

[DeloresSmith109]

AMERICANS,
I have three members of my family buried at Arlington National Cemetery. They have shared the stresses of war with me. This is NOT the time to allow homosexuals in battle. It a stress that cannot be endured by both homosexuals and heterosexuals. You never introduce new stresses on the battlefield. This would only result in more deaths of both heterosexuals and homosexual. Do not repeal this Bill and introduce a new stress to our military. The Commander of the Marines and others are opposed to repealing this bill at this time.
Delores Smith
[e-mail]

[YisroelFeld]

The Bible, Deuteronomy, chapter 23, verse 15, relates that The Lord gave the ancient Israelite people strict instructions regarding the standards for their marching camp:

"For the Lord, your Lord, goes along in the midst of your camp, to rescue you and to deliver your enemies before you. [Therefore,] your camp shall be holy, so that He should not see anything unseemly among you and would turn away from you." (Translation from http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9987)

This should certainly provide a powerful message to all countries to think about having high standards for their armed camps and to try to avoid the various corruptions that often come in military environments.

So homosexuality, which is one of the very worst sexual corruptions (see Leviticus, chapter 18, verse 22), should certainly not be allowed in a country's armed forces. That in the early 1990's, our military was forced to accept homosexuals (with the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" shtick), was already extremely sad. That now, many want to force our military to accept and allow homosexuals who are coming in and bragging about their perversion, is that much more extremely terrible.

[ONTIE1]

Looks as though the CBS Poll just didn't cut it after a majority of other reliable polls were in major disagreement with CBS..maybe if CBS like some of those who vote for this digrace had gone out and polled the troops instead of making up numbers and polling the people in your staff room, you may have gotten a taste of reality, the thing you should deal with from time to time.

[abbe91]

"by dodinyc December 9, 2010 5:18 PM EST
How did we get to a point where on every vote 39 votes can beat 59 votes in the senate? I thought the Republicans said they wanted to do the will of the American people. Yeah right and the electorate gets sucked again and the newbies haven't even been sworn in yet. Disgusting."

That's because democrats won't make them REALLY filibuster, the old way.
That would be something.

[samXXkiley]

coucou,
Lieberman said that while Thursday's vote was a setback, "it ain't over till it's over." He promised to "keep fighting until the last moment of this session."

joe lieberman m?ne combat sur tous les fronts.
m?nagez vous "joe", vous allez vous ?puiser, lol

certains ont fait le choix d'?tre gays, c'est leur vie.
cela dit pourquoi cette envie de vouloir le crier sur les toits.
les forces arm?s sont l'image d'une nation et sa force.
les repubs et leur "non" magique

*********************************
Joe Lieberman leads fight on all fronts.
spare you "jo", you will exhaust yourself, lol

some chose to be gay, it's their life.
This explained why the urge to want to shout from the rooftops.
armed forces were the image of a nation and its strength.
Repub's and their "no" magical. au revoir

[EastCoastRob]

Why is this an issue TODAY? REALLY? Anyone look at the deficit, the debt, the unemployment numbers? Get on your congresspeople about THAT and get back to the gay ambition later, please. People are suffering and yet folks are upset about letting others know where their ***** goes... talk about the kettle and the pot.

[abhorlibs]

Why is congress arguing over this? I thought obamao was "not resting" and "laser focused" on the economy, jobs, etc., you know, the things that [formerly] made the U.S. great. I know you libs will jump all over me saying it is not obamao, but the congress, bickering. BULL. Let obamao grow a pair, do what a Prez is supposed to do, first and foremost what he said he would do, and make this country fiscally sound and united in purpose.

[formrusmcsgt]

Senate Republicans have blocked a bill that would allow for repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy banning gays from serving openly in the military.
---
repubs expect gays to be invisible so repubs don't have to face their own intolerance.

[myth1958]

Montopoli is workmanlike in his autopsy of the failed repeal and all the side issues which tied it in knots. The RIght doesn't care what the majority wants: if the majority had wanted the Right, we'd have Sarah Palin as VP right now. No, the Hard Right has taken the House back and they're gonna ride it like a bronco until it submits to their will. Screw this equal-rights baloney: we prefer discrimination ("I'd repeal the Civil Rights Act" - Rand Paul). But the best thing about elected officials is - they can't sit there forever. Get caught doing the wrong thing too often, and next campaign your opponent will be replaying it endlessly on tv. So the GOP thinks it can squash gay rights? There goes ten points in the next election, easy.

[thanksgreed]

They need to TELL and walk away. Why should the risk their lives for a lie?

[bounce-cbsnews]

I think all should quit volunteering to support our Fascist Government and all the puppet governments we have set up around the world. Doesn't anyone learn about the past history of this nation?

[EastCoastRob]

Last time (sniff, leaving this thread). The military is not a club, it's a serious, calculated endeavor. You want wikileaks and romance in combat - but after stripping it all, you want defense or not?... think about that.