After today's 65-31 Senate vote to repeal of the 17-year-old ban, the legislation moves to President Obama, who has said that he will sign the repeal into law.
"To deny brave men and women the ability to serve their country openly and honestly is to reject the fundamental American principles of fairness and equality for all," said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. "Today’s vote, a reflection of the overwhelming majority of Americans who support the repeal, moves us one step closer to ending a ban which undermines our national security and has resulted in the loss of critical and skilled service members."
"As I heard the final vote count, relief swept over me and I felt like my eight years of service and sacrifice had finally been validated,” said Sergeant Anthony Bustos. "Today's vote will not only strengthen our national security, it will also strengthen our nation's integrity."
Sergeant Anthony Bustos, a 25 year old native Texan, served eight years in the United States Army National Guard and completed two tours in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sergeant Bustos was officially discharged on December 9, 2010 under the military’s "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" law. Sergeant Bustos worked with GLAAD prior to coming out on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer earlier this year.
A major Pentagon study concluded gay and lesbian people could serve openly without affecting combat effectiveness and that two-thirds of troops predicted little impact if the law is repealed. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/25/cnn-poll-nearly-8-in-10-favor-gays-in-the-military/) released earlier this year indicates that 78 percent of the public supports allowing openly gay and lesbian people to serve in the military.
