DADT Rundown – The Day After The Senate Repeal

DADT repeal will create a ripple effect in fight for gay rights: "Yet the repeal is far more than just a single policy shift. The overturning of "don't ask, don't tell" is likely to create a ripple effect in addressing other gay-rights issues, as many states continue to debate issues including same-sex marriage and the right of gay partners to share benefits the same way legally married couples do. With gay service members serving openly, it will become difficult for policy makers to justify, say, withholding visitation rights or survivor benefits to the same-sex spouse of a wounded or fallen soldier."

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has urged gays and lesbians servicemen to remain closeted – for now: "The new rules would still not take effect for another 60 days. The military will implement change in a responsible, deliberate manner,' said Mullen, the highest ranking military officer. Gates warned troops they should keep their sexual orientation quiet for now because the current law and policy will remain in effect during the deliberative process. The Pentagon has nonetheless implemented a de facto moratorium on ousting troops over their sexual orientation since a first ruling against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" by a federal judge in October."

It could take longer than 60 days. Some are reporting that the implementation of the repeal could take up to a year for it to go into full effect.

Nancy Pelosi tells the Advocate: “I think people will see this [vote] as a celebration of our country. Passing this bill makes America stronger in every way, not just national security, but in our values. Frankly it’s a boost of morale for the nation and will be remembered as a defining time when we said no to discrimination.”

Andrew Cohen of The Atlantic writes about the next legal fight for gays in the military: "Now that the Pentagon will finally be recognizing the existence of such service members in its ranks, it will also as a matter of law and logic be recognizing the existence of same-sex partners or same-sex spouses. But those folks are barred by the federal Defense of Marriage Act from receiving some of the benefits that opposite-sex partners or opposite-sex spouses would receive from the military."

The Freedom Federation would like to see a repeal of yesterday's repeal: "This action will be overturned in the next Congress because it breaks the bond of trust that must exist between the military and those who command in the Pentagon and Congress."

Joe Lieberman says that yesterday's vote to repeal DADT has nothing to do with his decision to potentially run for a fifth term in 2012.

Nate Silver on why some Republicans may have voted for the repeal: "All of this is just Politics 101: when a policy initiative enjoys the support of 60 or 70 or 80 percent of the public, it is liable to garner some bipartisan support."

The end of DADT means the return of ROTC to some college campuses: "The repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the armed forces won't be implemented for a few months yet, but it will immediately lead elite colleges to begin to reconcile with the military training program kicked off college campuses more than four decades ago. Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust promised in a November joint appearance with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen at the school's Institute of Politics that the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs would return to Harvard once the Don't Ask law was repealed."