Tag Archives: Mitch McConnell

President signs historic bill to repeal DADT

Following a dramatic and eloquent speech, President Obama Wednesday morning signed the legislation that will launch the repeal of a 17-year-old law that prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military.

Historic Senate vote: Congress repeals 17-year-old ban on gays in military

The U.S. Senate approved a bill Saturday, December 18, to repeal the 17-year-old law banning openly gay people from serving in the military. The roll call vote on the measure, which came to the Senate Wednesday from the House, was

DADT Day 2: Repeal supported

The second and final day of the Senate hearing on repealing "Don’t ask, don’t tell" has adjourned and the battle lines are still very much where they were at the beginning, with one exception.

60th vote still not named on DADT

Supporters of repealing Don't Ask Don’t Tell are talking a big game now. They say they have more than the 60 votes they need to break a Republican-led filibuster that has prevented consideration of the repeal and its underlying defense

First Amendment fights to dominate high court

There are some important First Amendment cases coming before the U.S. Supreme Court in the session that begins today. The most important case for the LGBT community at the moment is Snyder v. Phelps, which the court will hear on

Vote against filibuster fails; no DADT repeal today

The Senate rejected a motion to break a Republican-led filibuster against an annual defense spending bill that includes language aimed at ending the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law banning gays. The vote was 56 to 43.

Reid: Vote to break DADT filibuster Tuesday afternoon

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday filed a motion for cloture on the defense authorization bill, meaning that the first showdown vote affecting the language to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) will take place on Tuesday afternoon.

Kagan debated in full Senate, vote Thursday

Senator Jon Kyl, a Republican from Arizona, said he would oppose Elena Kagan’s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court because she has “a history of ignoring the law when it conflicts with the gay rights agenda.”

Obama’s new proposal: LGBTs still missing

President Obama released a new health care reform bill that he says incorporates work done in the House and Senate and adds ideas from Republican members of Congress. But there’s no inclusion in this new proposed measure of any of