Gay amendments possible this week for defense bill

Senate could take up 'Don't Ask,' hate crimes provisions
By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade Jul 13 2009, 10:10 AM

U.S. senators are considering the introduction of LGBT-related amendments to the fiscal year 2010 defense authorization bill if it comes to the Senate floor as planned this week.
The potential amendments could make the legislation a vehicle for the biggest advances to date in LGBT rights at the federal level.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is considering the introduction of an amendment that would instate an 18-month moratorium on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which would prevent further investigation of gay service members until it expires or Congress can accomplish full repeal, according to Bethany Lesser, a Gillibrand spokesperson.
The Daily Beast first reported that Gillibrand was considering the introduction of the amendment.
But Lesser emphasized that the amendment is still only under consideration and Gillibrand wants ultimately to fully repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” as opposed to instating a moratorium.
“This is still, like, very much in the planning stages,” Lesser said. “[Gillibrand] is looking more big picture. She wants to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ overall, and she’s working with Sen. [Ted] Kennedy’s office and Congressman [Patrick] Murphy’s office to garner support for this through Congress. So that’s more of her focus — this bigger picture.”
Lesser said Gillibrand’s office doesn’t have the specifics yet on what day the senator would introduce the bill if she decides to, nor does she know what would prompt Gillibrand to make a definitive decision on introducing the amendment. The Daily Beast reported that Gillibrand may submit the provision to the floor Tuesday.
Allison Herwitt, legislative director for the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement that HRC believes a moratorium amendment should be introduced only if there is enough votes to fully overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“HRC believes that this temporary repeal amendment should only be offered and voted on if we are confident that there are sufficient votes to advance the issue of permanent repeal of ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell,’” she said. “It is not yet clear that threshold can be achieved this week. However, we remain committed to exploring every possible option available to stop the discharges of honorable men and women standing on the front lines protecting the safety and security of all Americans.”
A hate crimes provision in the defense bill can be expected, however. Herwitt said the defense legislation will be the likely vehicle for the hate crimes measure, and the amendment should come up sometime in the middle of this week. A senior Democratic leadership aide had earlier confirmed for the Blade that Senate leaders plan to amend the defense bill to include the hate crimes provision.
Herwitt said she thinks Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will introduce the amendment on the Senate floor. David Carle, spokesperson for Leahy, confirmed the senator would introduce a hate crimes amendment to the defense bill this week, but said the day on which Leahy would introduce the amendment has not yet been set.
Carle said the language would be identical to S. 909, the standalone hate crimes legislation that Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) introduced in the Senate earlier this year.
President Obama has threatened to veto the defense bill because the House version contains funding beyond the administration’s request for F-22 jets. But sources have told the Blade that a Democratic Congress wouldn’t send a defense bill to a Democratic president if he would veto it.