Advocates push to repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’

    Advocates of repealing the military policy of  banning openly gay people from serving in the military are making a big push this week to get Senate leaders to bring the issue up for a vote before the end of this session. Congress began its lame-duck session Monday, which leaves little time for the issue to get onto the floor for debate.

    But gay rights advocates say they are bolstered by a Pentagon study that found reversing the policy would cause little harm to the military.

    Heather Cronk is with Get Equal, which advocates for the repeal of  “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”

    “We have started getting early reports from that study, it’s very positive. A vast majority of active duty soldiers and their families are completely ok with integrating gay and lesbian Americans into the armed forces openly and honestly.”

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    The study found that more than 70 percent of troops surveyed for the study said the effect of ending the ban would be positive, mixed or nonexistent.

    The repeal already passed in the House, but faces a tougher fight in the Senate.

    Opponents of the repeal call the study biased. They say the leak of selected findings to the media was intended to manipulate the debate. The full study is scheduled to be released Dec. 1.

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