[morethanpretty]

Obama presses for repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the lame duck session

Updated: Thursday, November 4th, 2010 | By Angie Drobnic Holan

On the day after the November elections of 2010, President Barack Obama outlined a few of his hopes for a final, lame duck session of the 112th Congress before the Republicans take control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

One of those hopes is to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the policy that prevents gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

Obama noted that a military review is expected to be released in December that discusses the implications of ending "Don't Ask Don't Tell."

"I will expect that Secretary of Defense (Robert) Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral (Michal) Mullen will have something to say about that review. I will look at it very carefully," Obama said. "But that will give us time to act, potentially during the lame duck session, to change this policy."

"We need to provide certainty and it's time for us to move this policy forward," Obama added. "And this should not be a partisan issue. This is an issue, as I said, where you've got a sizable portion of the American people squarely behind the notion that folks who are willing to serve on our behalf should be treated fairly and equally."

We should be clear that repealing the policy is hardly a certainty -- there remains plenty of room for legislative maneuvering, because the policy repeal is part of a larger defense authorization bill. And if the repeal isn't enacted during the lame duck session, its prospects do not improve when Republicans take control of the House next year

Here, we wanted to note in this update that the 2010 elections haven't stopped Obama's attempts to keep this particular promise. Its rating remains, for now, In the Works.

From here