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DADT Likely to Be Part of Defense Bill


BARNEY FRANK x390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM

Repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” will likely be included as part of next year’s Department of Defense authorization bill in both chambers of Congress, Congressman Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said Wednesday.

“Military issues are always done as part of the overall authorization bill,” Frank said, insisting that this has been the strategy for overturning the policy all along. “'Don’t ask, don’t tell' was always going to be part of the military authorization.”

Frank said he has been in direct communication with the White House, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, and other congressional leaders about the strategy for ending the 1993 ban on gays serving openly in the military.

Though some moderate Democrats have recently expressed concern about repealing the policy during a midterm election year, Frank said resolve at the White House has never wavered. “The Administration is totally committed to this and has been from the beginning,” he said.

Anecdotally, Frank recalled an incident earlier this year when Defense secretary Robert Gates made a statement to reporters suggesting that repeal was still an open question.

“There was a point where Gates said, ‘If we repeal don’t ask, don’t tell,’ and the next day he said, 'When we repeal don’t ask, don’t tell,’” said Frank. “That’s because Rahm called him up. The White House has been consistently committed.”

The Defense Department reauthorization bill would be voted on next spring and summer and would take effect October 1, 2010, according to Frank. But he added that discharges could potentially be stopped by executive order before the law goes into effect.

“Once the bill is passed, even if it hasn’t yet taken effect at that point, the president could justify a stop-loss order because it would no longer be the law -- it’s just a matter of time,” Frank explained.

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Reader Comments
  • Name: Bob McDermott
    Date posted: 12/18/2009 10:08:26 PM
    Hometown: Honolulu

    Comment:

    REALCANDOR.COM Bob McDermott, Unleashed Technologies, LLC 91-982 Ololani Street Ewa Beach, HI 96706 Bob@unleashedtechnologies.tv A 527 Political organization registered with the IRS (808) 371-4605 cellular contact We have started a national internet petition to inform Congress that the vast majority of Americans want the current policy of "Don't ask Don't Tell" to remain in effect, rather than changing it to allow service members to engage and practice open Homosexuality. We believe that people who self-identify themselves as gays, transgender and lesbians must be treated with respect, compassion and dignity. However, the pursuit of their chosen “lifestyle” is incompatible with service in the military. No doubt that some who have practiced Homosexuality have served with bravery and distinction, but they kept their private behavior in check and maintained the military regulations in accordance with the Uniform Military Code of Justice (UCMJ). Areas of major concern: Civil Rights Issue: The human genome has been mapped and there is no scientific evidence that homosexual behavior is genetically determined. It is a behavior issue and not an immutable genetic characteristic like ear size or skin color. THE Uniform Code of Military Justice: These rules apply to all services members and are much more restrictive than the rights guaranteed by the US constitution; military recruits are made aware of this fact prior to enlistment. The UCMJ designed to maintain morale, cohesion, good order, and discipline. The Public Health Issues and Costs to the military would be tremendous: Sexual relationships between members of the same sex expose those practitioners to extreme risks of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), physical injuries, mental disorders and even a shortened life span. There many distinctions between homosexual and heterosexual relationships, most with specific medical consequences are Promiscuity: Volumes of studies have revealed that levels of promiscuity among the gay males is exponentially higher than that among heterosexuals. Physical Health: Common sexual practices among gay men lead to numerous STDs and physical injuries some of which are virtually unknown in the heterosexual population. Psychiatric Illness: Multiple studies have identified high rates of psychiatric illness, including depression, drug abuse, and suicide attempts, among self-professed gays and lesbians. The general health risks posed by their chosen behavior leads to a lost of up to 20 years in their life expectancy, About Bob McDermott, CEO of Unleashed and WWW.REALCANDOR.COM has been married for 23 years to a, Samoan; they have eight bi-racial children. He served honorably as an enlisted Marine and a Marine Corps Office during the first gulf war. He was an elected as a Republican in the Hawaii State Legislature. He is currently employed as the Executive Director of a military support organization. 22 years ago, Bob and his wife took in her homeless transgender cousin, a male who was taking hormones to become female in appearance. Bob also hired an open homosexual as a member of his legislative staff. Bob has “walked the walk” when it comes to tolerance and compassion. Yet, he can still disagree with the behavior in a respectful, logical, and compassionate manner. All of Mr. McDermott’s medical assertions can be found in a report authored by Dr. John r. Diggs, Jr., M.D. found at www.realcandor.com as a PDF document.

  • Name: Cory Stephens
    Date posted: 11/23/2009 11:15:41 AM
    Hometown: St Joseph MO

    Comment:

    So many legal issues will need ironed out if DADT is repealed, including marriage, re-enlistment of gay purges, and LGBT-focused military recruitment. A brief analysis published in St Joseph (MO) Free Press covers the ramifications quite well. http://stjfreepress.tumblr.com

  • Name: CommieBlaster
    Date posted: 11/16/2009 9:29:04 AM
    Hometown: Chicago

    Comment:

    Barney Frank is a Communist. See proof here: www.commieblaster.com/progressives/index.html

  • Name: Cheryl K. Dubuc
    Date posted: 11/14/2009 10:53:18 PM
    Hometown: Norman, Oklahoma

    Comment:

    I served active duty in the USAF from 1973-1978. My exposure to lesbian "witch hunts" started at my first base (Altus AFB,OK). I was assigned a sponsor, like everyone else. I spent the next 6wks running around the base with my sponsor and friends. Soon I was visited late one night by an unknown person knocking at my door warning me to stay away my sponsor and friends because they were being investigated my the OSI. I didn't know anything about homosexuality and was frightened at the possibility of being discharged with a less than honorable discharge so I chose to avoid them, and soon about 15 of them were discharged because of their homosexuality. From that point on I avoided any friendships with other female airman. I started dating and soon found out if you didn't put out the male airman would call you a whore or lesbian. It was a very lonely and isolating journey. The sexual harassment began. Married 3yrs later: 3 mos. pregnant, and was raped while on duty.

  • Name: Cheryl K. Dubuc
    Date posted: 11/14/2009 10:51:20 PM
    Hometown: Norman, Oklahoma

    Comment:

    I served active duty in the USAF from 1973-1978. My exposure to lesbian "witch hunts" started at my first base (Altus AFB,OK). I was assigned a sponsor, like everyone else. I spent the next 6wks running around the base with my sponsor and friends. Soon I was visited late one night by an unknown person knocking at my door warning me to stay away my sponsor and friends because they were being investigated my the OSI. I didn't know anything about homosexuality and was frightened at the possibility of being discharged with a less than honorable discharge so I chose to avoid them, and soon about 15 of them were discharged because of their homosexuality. From that point on I avoided any friendships with other female airman. I started dating and soon found out if you didn't put out the male airman would call you a whore or lesbian. It was a very lonely and isolating journey. The sexual harassment began. Married 3yrs later: 3 mos. pregnant, and was raped while on duty.

  • Name: Cheryl K. Dubuc
    Date posted: 11/14/2009 10:49:23 PM
    Hometown: Norman, Oklahoma

    Comment:

    I served active duty in the USAF from 1973-1978. My exposure to lesbian "witch hunts" started at my first base (Altus AFB,OK). I was assigned a sponsor, like everyone else. I spent the next 6wks running around the base with my sponsor and friends. Soon I was visited late one night by an unknown person knocking at my door warning me to stay away my sponsor and friends because they were being investigated my the OSI. I didn't know anything about homosexuality and was frightened at the possibility of being discharged with a less than honorable discharge so I chose to avoid them, and soon about 15 of them were discharged because of their homosexuality. From that point on I avoided any friendships with other female airman. I started dating and soon found out if you didn't put out the male airman would call you a whore or lesbian. It was a very lonely and isolating journey. The sexual harassment began. Married 3yrs later: 3 mos. pregnant, and was raped while on duty.

  • Name: Cheryl
    Date posted: 11/13/2009 6:54:01 PM
    Hometown: Dearborn

    Comment:

    Congressman Frank is putting off the repeal of DADT until October 2010 and is fooling nobody with it. The White House is run by the DNC and the Democratic National Committe is stategizing the midterm election and sees putting this off until October 2010 as a bone the gay community will eat up and return them to office and Congressional control. They'll probably even market the words of candidate Obama, that they will be a 'fierce advocate' for repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. Barney, the saying is fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me and candidate Obama got me the first time and I'm not falling for the same empty words again. I think Congressman Frank should stand with Patrick Murphy and not the DNC's White House plan, otherwise, he's just another Democrat whose lack of action, speak much louder than his words.

  • Name: Charles
    Date posted: 11/13/2009 3:04:38 AM
    Hometown: Julian

    Comment:

    They should have called this policy "Investigate On Rumor, Discharge On Discovery," since that's what it means in practice. Amazing they could convince anybody that an environment of fear, suspicion and division would be conducive to greater cohesiveness. But why expect rational thought from a system that rates unstable, violent felons more desirable than competent, rule-abiding gays? As far as this tactic of appending to an appropriations bill, Obama previously dissuaded a congressman from defunding the investigative arm of the DADT office in a similar bill, so this is a more direct approach to undoing the policy.

  • Name: Ben
    Date posted: 11/12/2009 11:34:06 AM
    Hometown: NY

    Comment:

    This is a cheap way to elicit gay and liberal support for funding one-sided "wars" that we have no business being involved in...or rather, our involvement is all about big business, nothing else. Our soldiers are supposed to protect and defend our country, not be hired out as mercenaries for corporate interest.

  • Name: Dustin
    Date posted: 11/12/2009 10:13:46 AM
    Hometown: Yuma, AZ

    Comment:

    While I believe that this is good news and even a good, though somewhat chickenshit, tactic, I also believe that DOMA is a much greater hurdle. DADT's repeal can be tied in with overall funding of the military. Republicans risk appearing to have failed the troops in war zones if they don't vote in favor of funding them. DOMA is a much trickier issue. It will require a straight up or down vote in both houses. It will split along party lines and we've seen that those in the Democrat party are not really loyal when it comes time to stick their necks out.

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