The ban on gays serving in the military will end, finally

[Icarus27k]

Congress is going to be voting on a repeal of the ban. Again. It'll probably happen sometime over the next week. The only thing different about it this time is that it is going to pass.

In the Senate, the filibuster will be overcome because 57 of the 58 members of the Democratic caucus will vote yes on repeal, and so will Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Scott Brown. This gives us 60 yes votes, enough to break a filibuster.

In the House, the Democrats still have a substantial majority for the next few weeks, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promises to vote on the repeal as soon as the Senate does.

I don't want the big news of this to get lost, so I'm posting this ahead of time.

 

[FiveParadox]

A Long Overdue Conclusion

Fantastic!

It's good to see the United States of America is finally taking on a more progressive stance (or, at the very least, a less conservative stance) on the issue of the status of gays and lesbians as equal citizens in society. As court cases continue to be fought over issues of LGBT rights throughout the United States, I don't doubt that, during these next few years, these decisions will reinforce the fundamental principles of equality and justice. It is just a matter of time before gays and lesbians enjoy equality on a global scale--a good amount of time, to be sure, but just a matter of time nonetheless.

It is critical that the United States takes these important steps forward, as a world superpower, so that LGBT-friendly nations can band together to irradicate homophobia on a global level. Having the United States as a partner in that endeavour would certainly be to the benefit of the LGBT community--and anyone else, in fact, who supports the respect of rights and freedoms.

Best of luck in these matters to the Democratic Party of the United States. In particular, my thanks to His Excellency the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States; The Honorable Representative Nancy Pelosi (8th District of California), the Speaker of the House of Representatives; The Honorable Senator Harry Reid (Nevada), the Majority Leader of the Senate; and The Honorable Representative Steny Hoyer (5th District of Maryland), the Majority Leader of the House, on their work to bring this issue to its only just conclusion.

 

[mentalfloss]

For some reason I feel like we'll get a tragic surprise in this next vote.