Three N.C. Dems join Republicans against DADT

Three N.C. Democrats voted with House Republicans late Thursday night in opposing the repeal of the military’s "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy on gays and lesbians.

U.S. Reps. Mike McIntyre of Lumberton, Bob Etheridge of Lillington and Heath Shuler of Waynesville voted "no," Barb Barrett reports.

The amendment would repeal the 1993 policy of prohibiting gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

It was offered by U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania, a Democrat and a veteran of the war in Iraq. The amendment passed 234-194, largely along party lines.

The state’s entire Republican delegation opposed the amendment; its other Democrats voted "yes."

"I believe soldiers should be judged on how well they do their jobs, not on their sexual orientation," said U.S. Rep. David Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, in statement after the vote. "It’s time to repeal the outdated Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy so that every American has the opportunity to fight for the country we all love."

Price cited the story of Sara Isaacson, an ROTC cadet at UNC-Chapel Hill who was kicked out of the program after revealing her sexual orientation to her commander. Last week Price wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Isaacson’s behalf.

Also Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to move ahead with its own version of the amendment.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan voted with other Democrats in supporting the amendment. U.S. Sen. Richard Burr joined the rest of the GOP in voting no.

Burr said Friday he voted no because he doesn’t want to change policies while the United States is fighting wars in two theaters.

"Those folks can still fight. They’re fighting today," Burr said.

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"I don’t think now is the time to change the physical environments in battle," he said. "Do we need to separate housing? Do we need to separate latrines? What do you do with outposts? Does this affect how you make up platoons? It changes drastically in my mind the challenges that we would face in theater, and I don’t think that now is the time."

Burr said he hasn’t seen compelling evidence that "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" has hurt the military’s readiness or the size and strength of the armed services. 

Despite the votes, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network in Washington sent a warning to its members reminding them that the policy remains in effect and that gay and lesbian troops could still be vulnerable to being discharged.

"Do not come out," the warning reads. "It is not safe to come out nor serve openly until the process of repeal is complete."

The policy has been in place since the Clinton era and requires gay and lesbian service members to stay closeted about their sexual orientation. Supporters of repealing the policy say 13,500 troops have been dismissed from the armed forces under the rule.