New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is considering backing a senate amendment that would pause military discharges based on sexual orientation, Jason Bellini reported on The Daily Beast.

Gillibrand, the freshman senator appointed by Governor David Paterson after President Obama tapped Hillary Clinton to head the State Department, has signaled she will likely introduce the reform on Tuesday as an amendment to a Defense Department reauthorization bill.

The amendment would place an 18-month moratorium on the military gay ban, also known as “don't ask, don't tell,” the law that prescribes discharge for gay and lesbian service members who do not remain celibate or closeted.

The decision to introduce the amendment is not final, Bellini reported.

“Senator Gillibrand is working with Senator Kennedy's office to garner support for a repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell,' and this is a part of an ongoing effort to repeal this policy,” Bethany Lesser, a Gillibrand spokeswoman, told the freelance reporter.

(It was widely believed that Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy would introduce the legislation in the Senate, and may still.)

“The Senate Democratic caucus, now sixty members strong, should eagerly get behind this amendment,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a group that lobbies for repeal, in a statement. “Moderate and responsible Republicans and Independents can and should support it.”

Last week, Pennsylvania Representative Patrick Murphy took over as sponsor of repeal legislation in the House from outgoing California Representative Ellen Tauscher, who is also headed to the State Department.

Murphy told the Stars and Stripes that he wants to repeal the law as soon as possible, with or without the help of the president.

“I don't work for the president,” Murphy, who is an Iraq war veteran, said. “We don't need to wait.”

Such lucid messages in favor of repeal arrive as the president is being called all mouth and no trousers on the policy. Candidate Obama was a strong supporter of repeal, but as president he's offered a more muddled message. In the time that Obama has been in office, he has officially said he believes the policy should be reversed and has insisted officials are involved in active discussions on how best to do that. But even as he pledged action and promised change, the administration fired nearly 300 gay and lesbian soldiers, and Obama has refused to sign an executive order that would end discharges as Congress reviews the policy, saying he was looking for a “durable” solution from Congress.

The administration's toing and froing on “don't ask, don't tell” is often used to highlight the president's hesitancy to act on gay rights.

During a speech to gay leaders at the White House last month, the president reiterated that he was committed to gay and lesbian rights, including repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal gay marriage ban, and the military ban on open gay service. And then, he asked the gay community to be patient.

Obama's go slow strategy has divided the gay community between those who believe the president is committed to gay rights but is forced to walk a tightrope on social issues, and those who say he's thrown the LGBT community under the bus, a reference used to describe President Bill Clinton's abysmal record on gay rights.

Congressional action on the policy then would put the ball back in the president's court.