The House of Representatives voted 234-194 on an amendment that paves the way for a House vote to repeal the controversial 17 year old 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' military policy aimed at gays in the military.It followed an 16-12 Senate Armed Services Committee vote that paves the way for the Senate to vote to repeal the policy as well.
The House amendment to repeal the controversial policy was offered by Iraq war veteran Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA) in the House's version of the defense authorization bill.
"When I served in Baghdad, my team did not care whether a fellow soldier was straight or gay," Murphy said. "Could they do their job so that everybody in our unit could come home safely. With our military fighting two wars, why on earth would we tell over13,500 able-bodied Americans that their services are not needed." President Obama said in a statement that he was "pleased" by the House vote.
"This legislation will help make our Armed Forces even stronger and more inclusive by allowing gay and lesbian soldiers to serve honestly and with integrity,"
And I'm happy to see an odious unjust law going down.
