WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) issued the following statement in response to the Senate’s cloture vote on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010:
“I was proud to vote this morning to invoke cloture on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Senator Coons said. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is discrimination, plain and simple. Sexual orientation should have never been a factor in determining one’s fitness for service. Any American prepared to die for his or her country deserves our utmost respect and admiration, not to be made to feel ashamed about who they are.”
“As happy as I am about the outcome, I can’t help but lament how close we came to never getting the opportunity to vote on this repeal,” Senator Coons said. “Reckless political behavior last week prevented the Defense authorization bill from being considered and kept this repeal from getting a vote. I applaud Senator Lieberman, Senator Collins, and the bipartisan group of Senators who voted for this bill today for coming together to introduce the repeal as a standalone measure and finally giving Senators the opportunity to cast up-or-down votes on a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. I could not be more proud to be a cosponsor of this historic legislation.”
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