Colin, Barack and DADT
by: Victor Maldonado
Sun Oct 19, 2008 at 11:24:45 AM EDT
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=7645What does it say for the future of LGBT service members that one of the architects of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law this morning endorsed the only major party candidate promising to support the law's repeal? What effect will Gen. Colin Powell's endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama have on the movement to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"?
As one of the most respected men in Washington, Powell's opinions matter. Powell's career is closely tied to the history of the ban on openly gay service members. In 1993, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Powell and then Sen. Sam Nunn led opposition to President Clinton's efforts to allow LGBT Americans to serve openly in the armed forces. It was Powell, along with conservative leaders in Congress, who urged President Clinton to pursue a legislative resolution to the question of whether or not to allow openly gay service.
