Day One: Senate Hearing on DADT Repeal

Read our Twitter recap of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Mike Mullen, and the coauthors of a report backing repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

- Sessions: "Clearly to me," the Witt case should hv been appealed to the Supreme Court and you would have gotten a decision affirming #dadt

- Sen. Sessions making conspiracy theory case that Obama admin didn't appeal #DADT cases to SCOTUS b/c they wanted leverage for legis repeal

- Johnson: "By 1953, 95% of the forces were integrated but buses in Montgomery were not." #dadt

- Sen McCaskill asks for comparison of attitudes when racial integration went under Truman in '48. Johnson sez 70-80% objected

- Johnson on court trends: Johnson: "there is a trend that is taking place since the Lawrence decision that we need to be mindful of"

- Gates on referendum quest: "That's not the way our military has ever worked" ... and "is a very dangerous path" #DADT

More on next page...

- GATES: "I can't think of a single precedent in American history of doing a referendum of the forces on a policy issue" #dadt

- Gates on potential court order: We would have "zero time to prepare & it was effective globally...and has a very high risk to the force"

- Gates on benefit, worries about "diluting the quality of those benefits if we created a new benefit for all single people" #DADT

- Gates objects to 1 report suggestion that new benefits be added for gays or straights who are not married but have partners #DADT

- Jeh Johnson notes: "Predictions are reflective of attitudes"-even in Marine combat units, when pple served with gays, their skepticism faded

- Gates adds that he thinks there's two considerations: 1. The "risk of the courts" and 2. "if not now, when?"

- Gates predicts: I think you'll hear from chiefs that "they do have high regard for the review and implementation plan" #DADT

- Sen. Thune notes objections from Gen. Amos, asks how we can repeal without support of service chiefs #DADT

- 5 min break: gen assessment, all 4 witnesses v. strong on repeal & rebutting criticism of report. even Ham now supports #DADT

- Webb: This is really "the most vital" piece of information we have as to how to move forward on repeal. #DADT

- Sen. Jim Webb: "This is really in my view, an incredible piece of work." (343-page report) #DADT

- Sen Susan Collins: "the report does convey a sense of the service members thinking about repealing the law" even if not asked directly

- GATES ON CERTIFICATION: personal approach is that until all the traning is complete, "I would not sign the certification."

- Mullen to Inhofe: "It was an extraordinarily positive response... more than statistically significant in all the key categories" #DADT

- Sen. Inhofe worries that only 28% of troops responded to survey (that was about 115,000 people, btw)

- Kenya PM Takes Back Gay Threats: Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga denied that he plans to call for the a... https://tinyurl.com/2frxqkp

- Lieberman: "#DADT is a stain on the US military that we have an opportunity to remove in this session of congress and I hope we do"

- Mullen: We're an inst. that values integrity & then we ask other people to join us, work w/ us, fight w/ us, die w/ us and lie about it...

- Lieberman, Amer now knows "That It's just wrong to be discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation."

- Gates was talking about losing soldiers from the special forces based on #DADT repeal.

- Gates: "I don't think any of us expect that the #s would be anything like what the survey suggests" based on experience of other countries

- McCain stopped questioning Ham, moves to Gates. Is now focused on the combat troops who expressed more trepidation about repeal

- Gen Ham: "Yes sir, I think it is time to change." (this is key testimony from Ham, who has not personally supported repeal)

- McCain asks Ham if it's time to repeal: It is my personal view that I'm very concerned about the timing of the courts... #DADT

- Levin asks Gen. Ham if he can implement repeal as head of troops in Europe: "Mr. Chairman, I'm confident that I can" #DADT

- Johnson says the study has been "revised" in certain places based on chief's input. #dadt

- Levin asks all witnesses (Ham, Johnson, Mullen, Gates) if they have carefully considered the views of the service chiefs #DADT

- Mullen to Levin: I have spent a great deal of time with the service chiefs since the beginning of the year #DADT

- Gates offers to stay another 30 mins. Questioning will now be 6 mins for each Sen.

- Mullen: I find the argument that war is not the time to change to be antithetical with our own experience since 2001 #DADT

- JEH JOHNSON (study cochair): Asks that Congress "not leave our military's fate on this issue in the hands of the courts" #DADT

- Mullen: I've been serving with gays & lesbians my whole career - we never missed a mission, never failed to deliver ordnance on target

- Mullen: What was my personal opinion is now my professional opinion #DADT

- Adm. Mullen: I'm convinced that repeal of the law governing #DADT is the right thing to do

- Gates: I believe this has become a matter of some urgency ... it is only a matter of time b/f the courts are again brought into the fray

- Sec. Gates: This can be done and it should be done without posing a serious risk to combat readiness. #DADT

- Sen. Levin opens Sen Armed Services Committee hearing by calling the Pentagon working study of #DADT repeal