This just landed in my inbox, and it's worth talking about. This morning the New York Daily News is carrying snippets from an exclusive interview with everyone's favorite headache of a senator, Joe Lieberman.
Sayeth NYDN:
Next week, the Connecticut senator will announce that he's taking the lead on repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the 1993 law that prohibits gay people from serving openly in the armed forces. Since implementation of the statute nearly 20 years ago, the military has discharged some 14,000 qualified men and women, many of them serving in critical jobs like Arabic and Persian translation.
Sounds like we've got a game plan. There's already a bill in the House sponsored by Rep. Patrick Murphy and 177 cosponsors, but until now no one had been willing to step up and sponsor a bill in the Senate. For a while it looked like Kirsten Gillibrand was going to be the flag carrier on this one, but it didn't happen.
No matter how confounding he may be on other issues and on his cheerleading for John McCain, Lieberman has always been an ally to the LGBT community. He was a cosponsor of the original Employment Nondiscrimination Act, a cosponsor of the Matthew Shepard Act (LLEHCPA), and has for several years been on record in opposition to DADT.
The fireworks begin in 3...2...1...