Both parties standing in way of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal

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What should have been a monumental and historic occasion was reduced to a political ploy for votes and ultimately failed, leaving a legal form of discrimination in place.

On Monday, a provision that would have led to the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the military law that prevents gays and lesbians from serving openly failed to garner the 60 votes needed to block a Republican filibuster in the Senate.

While pundits from both sides will try and lay blame at one specific group, there is plenty of blame to go around here.

We can start with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. Collins, one of the most liberal members of the GOP Senate caucus, is a supporter of repealing the law but refused to vote for repeal in this case because of the Democrats’ refusal to allow any Republican amendments to the Defense Authorization Act that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal motion was attached as an amendment to.

Nice to know that Collins would let petty political nonsense get in the way of her sense of right and wrong and a chance to be part of history, just to prove a point to the opposing party.

There’s plenty of blame to be laid at the feet of all 41 Senate Republicans who killed the measure, with special blame being landed at the feet of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee threatened to filibuster any repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which would secure him a spot right next to the late Sen. Strom Thurmond and his 24-hour filibuster of the Civil Rights Act in 1957 as one of the most bigoted acts in Senate history.

There is plenty of blame for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. He failed to court his best chance for a Republican vote in Collins by flat-out refusing any Republican amendments to the bill.

The whole vote was an act of futility anyway. The wording of the motion said “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would only be repealed if a study of all active military personnel stated that repeal would not hurt military morale, and that study had to be certified by the President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen.

The study has been ordered and is under way, so wouldn’t it be smart to just wait until it’s completed? It just proves that scoring political points is more important in Washington than not wasting time and money.

Since being signed into law in 1993, over 13,000 armed forces personnel have been discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and at a time when the armed forces are stretched as thin as they ever have and national security is of the utmost importance, it is time to end a practice that discriminates against brave men and women who serve this country for only living their lives honestly.