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Legislation was introduced Wednesday in the Senate to repeal "don't ask, don't tell."
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Democrats introduced a Senate bill to immediately repeal the ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers in the military.
Pushing back against Pentagon opposition, lawmakers said they would forge ahead with the bill.
The law "is inconsistent with our most important national values and diminishes our military readiness," Lieberman said.
"The record is now clear that the application of the current 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' policy has diminished America's military readiness."
"There are estimates that 4,000 of our troops per year leave service voluntarily because of Don't ask, Don't tell," Lieberman added.
According to The Huffington Post, this legislation accomplishes several key goals. The first is that a fill repeal of DADT will allow the Department of Defense to continue its study to determine the best way to implement the repeal, but ensures that the study remains dedicated to implementing repeal, not considering whether to repeal. And second, the legislation would end discharges for gay and lesbian servicemembers immediately. So, while the study period for implementation goes forward, no members of the Armed Forces will be discharged solely for their sexual orientation.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he wants Congress to hold off on lifting restrictions until the Pentagon completes a study to assess the impact of a repeal and the best way to implement the changes.
That review must be completed by December 1 under guidelines by Gates announced this week.
"Right now, we're not in a position to offer any advice to Congress on a legislative remedy to 'don't ask, don't tell' if they wanted to pursue one. We just don't know enough about the impact," said Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary.
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