House of Representatives Passes Repeal Of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

Pending approval of the Senate, gays may finally be able to serve openly in the military.

The House of Representatives passed a bill repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law 250-175 on Wednesday, and the policy’s fate now rests with the Senate. The 58 Democratic-aligned Senators need the support of two Republicans to avoid a filibuster, but while a handful of Republicans say they support the repeal they’ve also vowed to stick by a GOP pledge to block all Senate business in the 2010 session until the Bush-era tax cuts are extended. The bill the House passed Wednesday was a “stand-alone” measure, introduced after a bill that attached the repeal to several other measures stalled in the Senate. A judge has already declared that the policy banning openly gay Americans from serving in the military is unconstitutional.