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THE LATEST ON DADT REPEAL

May 12, 2011 | Sacramento Valley Veterans

Yesterday, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) convened to discuss mark-ups of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), HR 1540. Mark-up basically is a forum for HASC members to amend the bill before it goes up to the House floor for votes.

As expected, opponents of DADT repeal introduced three anti-DADT repeal amendments; one additional amendment was not introduced. The details of each amendment are listed below:

  • Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) introduced the first amendent which would expand the authority involved in repeal certification to include the Service Chief of each branch. Currently, certification involves the President, the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF), and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS). If the amendment makes it into the NDAA, it would essentially extend the repeal process as each Service Chief would have to have a say in certifying that repealing DADT would not harm unit cohesion or military readiness. In the April 7th HASC hearing, the Service Chiefs testified that the expanded authority was unnecessary. The amendment passed the mark-up with a 33-27 vote.

  • The second amendment was introduced by Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) which would prohibit the use of any military installation as a venue for same-sex marriages regardless of that facility's location in states that permit same-sex marriage. This amendment also prohibits any chaplain, Servicemember, or Department of Defense (DoD) employee from assisting or performing in a same-sex marriage ceremony anywhere. The amendment passed the mark-up with a 38-23 vote.

  • The third amendment was introduced by Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) which would reaffirm that language contained in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) specifically applies to legislation surrounding the DoD and is therefore applicable to members of the Armed Forces and DoD civilians. The amendment passed the mark-up with a 39-22.

  • The one amendment that was not introduced was to be presented by Rep. Steve Palazzo (R-MS). Dubbed the "Rights of Conscience," this amendment would provide protection of anyone in the military that believed being was is immoral. Additionally, it would delay certification for another 90 legislative days which, taking into account that Congress' houses are in session about three days a week, would extend the certification process another 30 or so weeks. This amendment, again, was not introduced.

As you can see, repeal opponents are not ready to stand down. The three amendments will go with the NDAA to the House floor for vote in the coming weeks. If the NDAA passes the House, it will go to the Senate where there is sure to be a lot of discussion, to say the least. And that would not be very helpful in the slightest.

Aubrey Sarvis, Executive Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), released the following statement in response to the amendments' inclusion:

The amendments adopted tonight during mark-up of the National Defense Authorization Act in the U.S. House related to the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' represent nothing less than an assault on our nation's senior military leaders and rank-and-file service members, who are marching toward open military service successfully. These adopted amendments to delay and derail repeal are a partisan political attempt to interject the same-sex marriage debate and other unrelated social issues into the NDAA where they have no place. Make no mistake - these votes should be a wake-up call to supporters of open service that our work is not done. Our commitment to timely certification and repeal must be redoubled as we move to the House floor to defend the progress we have made to ensure that LGB patriots can defend and serve the country they love with honesty and integrity.

In the meantime, repeal training wthin the ranks is expected to move forward and Secretary Gates will likely want to get certification done with before his June 30th departure.

Before the HASC mark-up hearing yesterday, SLDN pushed out a letter signed by various organizations (including American Veterans for Equal Rights, the national entity of with Sacramento Valley Veterans is a part of) calling for Congress to stay the course on DADT repeal. You can read the letter here.

More updates will be posted as developments occur.

Additional Reading:

THE PATH TO REPEAL


THE PENTAGON WORKING GROUP REPORT - RELEASED ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2010
SVV Pentagon Working Group Report page

On November 30th, the Pentagon Working Group released its report to Congress and the Secretary of Defense. The working group was established to author a report on “how” to implement repeal, not "if" repeal should happen.

Download a copy of the "Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" here

Download a copy of the "Support Plan for Implementation" here


THE SENATE VOTE - COMPLETED

On Thursday, December 9, 2010, the Senate voted not to begin working on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which contained an amendment for DADT repeal. The vote was 57-40 with three no-votes. Read more on who voted yes, no, or didn't here.

On Friday, December 10, 2010, Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) introduced a stand-alone DADT repeal bill (S.4023). The bill has been placed on the legislative calendar to be read and voted on before the Senate adjourns for the holiday.

On Wednesday, December 15, 2010, the House voted (250-175) to pass a stand-alone DADT repeal bill (HR 2965).

On Thursday, December 16, 2010, Senate majority leader Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) filed for cloture on the DADT repeal stand-alone bill. The filing essentially calls for a procedural vote which would end debate and bring the bill up for final vote.

On Saturday, December 18, 2010, the Senate voted to move the stand-alone DADT repeal bill forward for a final vote. The bill passed with a 63-33 vote. At 3 p.m., the Senate voted and passed the stand-alone DADT repeal bill with a 65-31 vote. The bill now goes to the President for signatures to be enacted into law.


PRESIDENTIAL BILL SIGNING - COMPLETED

On Wednesday, December 22, 2010, a little past 9 a.m., President Obama signed the DADT repeal bill into law.


Even after a successful U.S. Senate vote and after the President signs the bill, servicemembers will still remain at risk for investigation and discharge.

DADT will still be the law until 60 days after the Commander-In-Chief (CINC), Secretary of Defense (SECDEF), and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) certify repeal can happen.


CERTIFICATION - NOT COMPLETED

The President would transmit to the congressional Armed Services Committees a written certification, signed by the President, the SECDEF, and CJCS, stating each of the following:

DADT will still be the law at this point. Service members will still be discharged.


REPEAL EFFECTIVE 60 DAYS AFTER TRANSMITTAL - NOT COMPLETED

After the President transmits written certification to the congressional Armed Services Committees, full repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" would be effective 60 days later.


EXECUTIVE ORDER BY THE PRESIDENT - NOT COMPLETED

Merely repealing DADT won't ensure that lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members can serve free of discrimination based on their sexual orientation. Policies and regulations would need to be written and put in place. Repeal advocates will encourage the President to issue an executive order protecting service members from discrimination based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation.

This gives the President the opportunity to show strong leadership by adding non-discrimination of sexual orientation to the uniform side of the military via Executive Order.