New York senator reportedly considering moratorium on military gay ban
New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand is reportedly considering an amendment which would place an 18-month moratorium on the discharges of gay military personnel.
According to the Daily Beast, the amendment would force senators to declare their position on the gay ban for the first time since it was enacted in 1993.
It is believed that such an amendment is likely to be passed by the House and could be signed into law by President Obama, who has already criticised ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’.
According to a spokeswoman from Gillibrand’s office, the decision to introduce the amendment is not final.
She said: “Senator Gillibrand is working with Senator Kennedy’s office to garner support for a repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ and this is part of an ongoing effort to repeal this policy.”
Gillibrand is reportedly working with the Human Rights Campaign and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
“We went and explored this idea with several senators who were interested in doing something with DADT,” said Kevin Nix, communications director for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. “Gillibrand is one of those senators we’ve been talking to about doing this.
Currently, two skilled military personnel are estimated to be fired for being gay every day.
