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Senator Susan Collins Supports DADT Repeal- With Conditions

12/03/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
ThinkProgress is reporting that Senator Susan Collins of Maine will be joining Senator Scott Brown in supporting the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and to proceed to debate on the National Defense Authorization Act with the DADT repeal embedded in it. Collins said that she would vote for the legislation “once the tax issue is resolved,” which the Republicans are hoping is never. Brown, however, attached no such restrictions on his vote.

ThinkProgress has also put together a video of the various military chiefs and their testimony with regards to DADT’s repeal.

Defense General Council Jeh Johnson discussed the fact that the majority of the military chiefs want to wait for the end of combat to begin integration of the military, but this is a bogus argument as the military could be in Afghanistan until 2099 or the United States collapses due to the fact that too many people have too much testosterone invested in ‘winning’ in Afghanistan.

Senator John McCain has made it clear that he will go down with the ship no matter what.

When the vote will happen is as yet to be made clear.

Michael Mitchell, the executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, and Claire Naughton, the co-chair of Bay State Stonewall Democrats released the following statement in support of Senator Brown’s stance on DADT:

“We are very pleased to see that Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) has listened to his constituents and his heart and is standing tall today for repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. In the shadows of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. Brown is committing himself to see that repeal happens in a timely manner and when military readiness is assured. His comments are welcomed by Bay State Stonewall Democrats and others around the country and we are thankful for his support of our LGB troops. We look forward to his vote on the National Defense Authorization Act with DADT repeal intact,” said Michael Mitchell Executive Director of the National Stonewall Democrats.

“Given that Sen. Brown signed on to the GOP letter earlier this week, saying that they would obstruct all lawmaking until their demands of specific tax cuts and spending bills are met, we would like to remind Sen. Brown that our community and America is watching,” said Claire Naughton, Co-chair of Bay State Stonewall Democrats. “We hope that, as a soldier, Sen. Brown is aligned with what military leaders have been saying in Senate hearings: that the military is based on a culture of integrity and DADT demands just the opposite.”

“We trust Sen. Brown will hold to his word and make sure that DADT is repealed,” Mitchell continued.

Aubrey Sarvis, the executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and an Army veteran issued this statement regarding Senator Brown’s support:

“We welcome Senator Brown’s comments supporting the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask’ and the findings of the Pentagon report which showed 92% of service members are just fine working with their gay, lesbian, and bisexual colleagues. The National Defense Authorization Act, which includes the repeal provisions, must be called up in the Senate early next week under a reasonable approach that insures senators on both sides of the aisle a fair shot at amendments and debate. If the 42 GOP senators — including several who support repeal of ‘Don’t Ask’ — stand with their party on process and procedure, their vote will be an endorsement of the discrimination that has cost 14,000 men and women their jobs and put our country’s national security at risk. The time to repeal the discriminatory law is now,” said Aubrey Sarvis, Army veteran and executive director for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.