Obama To Ask For Repeal Of Anti-Gay ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ In SOTU

I want to hear a tough worded message from President Obama regarding the bigoted military policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ in the State Of The Union address.   But then I need to see action from President Obama and the White House to affect change!  I want more than mere words.  The nation needs to see this anti-gay policy tossed on the trash heap of history.  So many others nations, including the fearless Israelis, have placed openly gay soldiers in the rank-and-file, and so should America.  This shameful and outdated policy of gay-bashing only serves to give comfort to the homophobes and red-necks in the military. 

America is asking, Obama will tell. A few days after former Bill Clinton adviser Richard Socarides penned a fairly scathing Wall Street Journal op-ed — which called on President Obama to “show the same kind of concern for the constitutional rights of gay American service members as he has for enemy combatants held at Guantánamo Bay” — the commander-in-chief will reportedly address the repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” in his State of the Union address Wednesday night. We know this because Michigan senator Carl Levin was planning on holding some hearings on DADT, but was asked not to by the Pentagon.

Levin was told to hold off on announcing the hearing until after the president’s address Wednesday, according to a Senate aide. Levin was also told that Obama will address the issue of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” in his speech on Wednesday, but Levin does not know what’s in the speech, the aide added. Levin also mentioned this in a huddle with reporters on Monday.

A source familiar with some details of the initial draft of the State of the Union said it would address the repeal of the controversial law.