Early next year, Rep. Marty Meehan (D, Mass.) announced that he will reintroduce legislation to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

Rep. Meehan said that 112 Members of Congress from both parties have signed on to co-sponsor the bill, called the Military Readiness Enhancement Act. It is also important to note that, as we reported earlier, 3 out of 4 soldiers have no problems serving side-by-side with gay or lesbian soldiers.

"I will also be asking for the first Congressional hearings on gays in the military since 1993. I know that when my colleagues see and understand the evidence against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," they will be motivated to join me in the fight for repeal," Meehan said in a statement released by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

"We cannot afford to keep losing the talent and contribution of patriotic, gay Americans who want to serve. Our military success depends on having the best and brightest Americans in our armed forces. The best and brightest includes lesbian and gay Americans, too."

Since the ban on gays serving openly was implemented a decade ago more than 11,000 men and women have been dismissed under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" according to the Government Accountability Office.

The number of gays and lesbians who have attempted to enlist and rejected because they said they were gay is not known.

A study conducted last year for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network concluded that the U.S. military could attract as many as 41,000 new recruits if gays and lesbians in the military were able to be open about their sexual orientation.

We'll follow this one as it would be one of the largest positive changes at the federal level in a long, long time.

Labels: DADT, Massachusetts, military

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 28, 2006 at 12:20 PM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.