Goodby DADT

As Hapless Harry said," They say this isn't the right time to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. They're right. It should have been done yesterday."

Expected but still stunning. The vote was 65 to 31 for repeal.

Harry Reid called on the immediate end of discharges, while the whole repeal process will take about a year to implement.

The Administration's actions on this over the last few months have been frustrating and sometimes downright confusing. President Obama said he wanted it repealed legislatively and many of us doubted it could be done with the current political climate in Washington. He was right and he should be congratulated for a major triumph of civil rights.

First, it was the blacks they wanted to exclude from the armed forces, then women, then gays. Strike 3, you're out.

And before the vote, Harry Reid tweeted Lady Gaga that DADT was about to become history. Now that's a pair.

Despite taking a hammering from the gay and lesbian community, President Obama deserves credit for his advancing gay and lesbian rights in the last two years. First, it was the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Bill, second, it was hiring more gays, lesbians and transgender people than any other administration, third,assuring partners' rights in healthcare for government employees and later in the healthreform act, and now fourth,the repeal of DADT, one of his campaign promises. He is also the only sitting President ever to address the Human Rights Committee about concerns of gays and lesbians.

Same-sex marriage is the only thing left and that's up to the courts. Gays have won against DOMA and in several states won the right of same-sex marriage, and will probably win on Prop 8 later this month or the next.

But like the civil rights gains for African-Americans,we will again face an enormous backlash. Already,the Christian Right organized to defeat the Iowa Supreme Court judges who ruled for same-sex marriage and now want to replace the rest. The Family Research Council will be fund-raising like crazy among its prayer groups to attack sitting congresspeople who voted for the repeal. And as we've seen in the last week, born-again Christian military personnel are claiming they will leave the service since they are not allowed to proselytize among their colleagues, while gays can be open about their lifestyle. Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association only yesterday went on a tirade of how homosexuals are pedophiles. The angst among the Christian Rights is palpable and will be one of their organizing principles for 2012.

Beaten, John McCain sounded the clarion cry for the reactionaries--calling it a part of the "liberal agenda" developed by people who never served in the military. Is that like the Iraq War being organized by people who never fought in a war? Let's not forget for a moment that gay and lesbian servicemembers lobbied hard for this legislation and know what price they have paid for their silence. To them, we save bravo for a victory well deserved.