The Republican Party blocked a vote in the Senate to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” earlier today. The Senate could not close debate on the issue due to a filibuster, which blocked the defense authorization bill.
Several moderate Republicans have said they would vote to end DADT after they review a Pentagon study of the policy, the Washington Post reports.
In 1993, President Clinton signed the law that says if openly gay military personnel will be discharged. The reversal has been a rallying point for many conservative groups.
Senate Democrats were also considering an amendment that would lift restrictions on abortions at military hospitals, according to the Washington Times.
Republicans have a lot riding on Tuesday, said Charles Colson, a longtime evangelical activist.
“The Republican leadership would be pretty stupid if they didn’t fight this issue,” Mr. Colson said. Should the GOP fail to filibuster the plan, he said, “I think it would turn [social and religious conservatives] off from the Republican Party.”
During his first State of the Union address earlier this year, President Obama pledged to work with Congress to overturn DADT. The Post reports that advocates for a DADT repeal want another vote in December after the election.
