The Senate Armed Services Committee voted 16 to 12 today to proceed with a provision that would lead to the repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law, which prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
The vote was mainly along party lines with Republicans voting to keep the law and Democrats voting to do away with. Although, there was one exception: Virginia Senator Jim Webb.
Webb, who is a former Secretary of the Navy and one of the leading voices on national security issues for the Democratic Party, voted with the Republicans.
In March, I sat down with the senator at the Hotel Roanoke to talk about a host of issues including Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. At the time, Sen. Webb wouldn’t tell me how he would vote on the issue. Instead, he said he would withhold judgment until the military completed its review of the issue.
Tonight, in a written statement, Sen. Webb reiterated that comment saying, “I see no reason to pre-empt the process that our senior Defense Department leaders put into motion, and I am concerned that many members of the military would view such a move as disrespectful to the importance of their roles in this process.”
Posted by Jay Warren at 09:30 PM. Filed under: main •
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