Lieberman to Introduce DADT Repeal Bill

U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut and key member of the senate armed services committee, will introduce a bill to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy next week.

Lieberman confirmed his plan to become the chief sponsor for the bill in an interview with James Kirchick for the New York Daily News published on Monday.

"In an exclusive interview with the Daily News, Lieberman told me that his commitment to repealing DADT is twofold," wrote Kirchick. "First, allowing gays to serve openly fulfills the bedrock American promise of providing citizens with 'an equal opportunity to do whatever job their talents and sense of purpose and motivations lead them to want to do - including military service.' Second, and no less important for a lawmaker whose commitment to national security the Pentagon can't doubt, is that 'When you artificially limit the pool of people who can enlist then you are diminishing military effectiveness.'"

In October, The Advocate reported that the White House was in talks with Lieberman about strategies for repeal. In recent weeks, since the State of the Union address when President Barack Obama called to repeal the policy, the progress of those discussions remained a significant unknown.