MoveOn PAC, OutServe and the Human
Rights Campaign (HRC) are the among the groups joining Servicemembers
Legal Defense Network (SLDN) on Friday for a rally urging senators to
repeal “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” before the holiday break.
The noontime rally will be held at
Upper Senate Park (Constitution Ave. and Delaware Ave., NE) in the
District of Columbia.
The push to end the law that bans gay
and bisexual troops from serving openly comes after the
Senate held two days' worth of hearings on a Pentagon report that
endorsed repeal. But Republicans – led
by Arizona Senator John McCain, the ranking GOP member on the
Senate Armed Services Committee – say they'll unite to block the
measure.
“The lame-duck vote on repeal was set
up and dictated by some of the same senators – like John McCain and
Mitch McConnell – who are now delaying to kill the bill,” Aubrey
Sarvis, executive director of SLDN, the largest group lobbying for
repeal of the Clinton-era law, said in a statement. “They wanted
the Pentagon report – now they have it. They wanted hearings –
now they're done.”
“Senators must not be allowed to hide
any longer behind process, procedure, and tax cuts for the wealthy,
while the discrimination continues. We've lost 14,000 troops to this
antiquated law, and by God, we must not lose another on our watch.”