issue paper

The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, signed by President Clinton, has been law for a little over seventeen years, and it states that gay people cannot openly serve in the military. This allows gay people to serve in the military so long as they do not tell anyone about their sexual preference. The law also prohibits anyone from asking about or “investigating” another person’s sexual orientation. If someone is found to be gay by a superior, then that person can be discharged from the military for life (law.georgetown.edu). So far, since 1993, there have been around an estimated 13,500 people fired as an effect of this law and has cost the government between 200-363 million dollars (sldn.org). The Republican Party strongly supports the law, while the Democratic Party is largely against it.
Democrats believe that the policy should be repealed as soon as possible. They are going off of the basis that the law is discrimination and that soldiers are more tolerant of people regardless of sexual orientation. The democrats feel that, when fighting two wars, we cannot be selective about which kinds of soldiers we have to fight for us. If there are able-bodied people willing to fight, they say we should not just kick them out.
Some key supporters for the repeal of the policy include President Barack Obama and Lady Gaga (cnn.com). Obama vowed to have this bill repealed since the beginning of his term and is disappointed that it had been blocked by a republican led filibuster. Lady Gaga led a rally in Maine over the issue that gained public awareness about the subject, but was largely overlooked by any politicians.
The Republican Party is against the repeal of the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” Policy. They claim that they need to research the effects of the repeal to make sure it does not alter any military action (cnn.com). So studies are being done and polls are being taken over seas to find out how soldiers will react. The republicans also had the upper hand because the repeal movement in the senate had been attached to the Dream Act. This is all together named the National Defense Authorization Act (cnn.com). The Dream Act is the part that makes it somewhat a difficult decision because it allows illegal or non-resident minors to be granted United States citizenship if they have graduated from high school and serve a couple of years in the military (http://dreamact.info/). Most democrats think that both of these issues should be decided on independently.
A conclusion was never reached in the Senate as the republicans held their ground with four votes short of any legislature being put up for repeal which gave a final vote of 56-43 . The filibuster worked last Tuesday and the act was blocked. So, the democrats ,who are against the bill, were shot down and have to wait until the legislation comes up again and the republicans can comfortably stall the issue.