Will Byrd's Successor Back DADT?

As soon as news came early Monday morning that Democratic West Virginia senator Robert Byrd, the longest serving U.S. senator, had passed away at the age of 92, speculation immediately ensued about who his successor would be and how that would affect a host of legislative items.

Democratic governor Joe Manchin III is expected to move quickly to appoint a Democrat to the post. The West Virginia secretary of state announced that the election to replace Byrd would not be held until November 2012.

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” is the most immediate LGBT concern, since the National Defense Authorization Act, to which it is attached still awaits a vote on the Senate floor. Byrd was one of 16 members of the Senate Armed Services Committee who voted to attach the measure to the defense funding bill. The senator also negotiated a provision that allows the Senate an extra 60 days to review implementation of repeal once it is certified by the president, the secretary of Defense, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“Obviously, his successor continuing to support the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ when it comes before the full Senate is certainly important to the outcome,” said Fred Sainz, vice president of communications for the Human Rights Campaign.

Stephen Skinner, president of the board of Fairness West Virginia, the statewide LGBT equality group, went a step further than Sainz.

“I expect that person to honor Senator Byrd’s commitment to repeal,” he said, adding that the joint lobbying campaign that Fairness West Virginia and HRC undertook on “don’t ask, don’t tell” got “a really great reception” across the state. “His willingness to vote for repeal was a signal to leaders in West Virginia that it is OK to be in favor of protecting LGBT West Virginians — no one should underestimate the impact of what Senator Byrd signaled with that vote.”

Skinner said that although some political observers outside the state have already started speculating about Byrd’s successor, people in the state are still mourning their loss.

“Everybody has got to understand outside of this state how beloved Senator Byrd is,” he said. “You might expect there would be a lot of chatter today, but there’s not, and the reason there’s not is because we’ve lost a limb.”

But Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said time was of the essence in terms of filling Byrd’s seat.

“That individual, whoever he or she is, if they are sworn in by July 12, when the Senate returns from recess, would have a significant impact on key ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ votes,” he said.