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Written by Jeff Katz |
Monday, 23 November 2009
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| Tags: senate armed services committee, carl levin, don't ask don't tell, victor fehrenbach, dan choi, instinct, obama, ft. hood, afghanistan, u.s. government accountability office, c-span |
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After Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin said back in October that the committee would hold a hearing in November in hopes "to find a way to repeal 'Don't Ask, Dont' Tell,'" the community was feeling pretty good. President Obama had made some strong statements in our favor during October's National Equality March weekend, including promising to repeal DADT. Some of the major faces of DADT were getting more and more airtime on news networks (and including our own November cover, featuring Victor Fehrenbach and Dan Choi) to talk about the detrimental effect of the rule.
Now comes that punch in the gut we all feared.
The planned hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee to take up DADT's repeal has been postponed. Indefinitely.
In an interview on C-SPAN yesterday, Levin said the hearings on DADT would likely happen next year, though a spokesperson says no date has been set. The blame for the postponement is being placed on current events including the Ft. Hood shooting and reevaluating strategy in Afghanistan.
It's estimated that 13,000 service members have been discharged under DADT, and the AP reports an estimated costs through 2003 at $95.4 million in recruiting costs and $95.1 million in training replacements, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
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