Singer Lady Gaga has put Senators on
notice over repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” the 1993 law that
bans gay and bisexual troops from serving openly.
A
Senate panel will hold hearings this week on a Pentagon report on
repeal of the law before the measure moves to the Senate floor for a
vote. That
report, which includes a survey that found a majority of troops
unopposed to repeal, will be released Tuesday.
Seated on an overstuffed sofa and
wearing giant sunglasses, the pop singer puts senators on notice.
“Senators you have been put on notice
by me and by the people of this country,” Lady Gaga says in the
2-minute, black-and-white clip. “You said you would debate and
address this law when the Pentagon returned with a strategy and
tomorrow morning you will have it. Will you keep your word?”
The Alejandro singer adds that
the law “reinforces discrimination,” which is partially
responsible for an alarming gay teen suicide rate.
“Kids are being led to believe that
it's OK to hate and condemn based on our differences. And this
recent horrific news of gay suicides is really proof of our social
repression and ultimately government repression that is killing our
youth.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
Lady Gaga led a one-celebrity campaign
against the policy in the fall when the Senate first attempted to
repeal the ban. She
walked the VMA's with gay service members who had been booted from
the military, she
recorded a video urging her fans to back repeal, and she
traveled to Maine to lead a rally to persuade Senators Olympia Snowe
and Susan Collins to vote against the law.