Long-awaited passage of bill to repeal discriminatory policy a victory for Colorado progressives, leaders
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, December 18, 2010
DENVER: As the United States Senate gave final passage today of legislation to repeal the military's discriminatory "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy against gays and lesbians serving our country, ProgressNow Colorado, the state's largest online progressive advocacy organization, joined in the celebration.
"This is a great day for our armed forces, for the ideal of equality that America was founded on, and our progressive elected leaders in Colorado who fought for this change against all odds year after year," said ProgressNow Colorado Executive Director Kjersten Forseth. "Progressives across the state and nation are grateful for the persistence of Sen. Mark Udall, and others who refused to give up."
After a larger defense funding bill that included repeal of DADT was killed in the Senate earlier this month, Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado joined with cosponsors to introduce a "stand alone" version of the repeal independent of other considerations. Today, with the clock ticking down on the end of the present session of Congress, Sen. Udall and his colleagues won the votes necessary for final passage.
Colorado's junior U.S. Senator, Michael Bennet, has also strongly supported the repeal of DADT, as did progressives in Colorado's congressional delegation: Reps. Diana DeGette, Jared Polis, John Salazar, Betsy Markey, and Ed Perlmutter. The U.S. House passed Udall's legislation earlier this week. Repeal of the DADT policy also fulfills a major campaign promise by President Barack Obama.
"Because of this victory, thousands of brave American soldiers will finally be able to serve their country without living a lie," said Forseth. "Whatever happens in the next few years in Washington, this achievement will go down in history as a proud milestone on the road to ending discrimination in this country. Our children will remember this day along with integrating the schools in the 1950s, and the passing of the Civil Rights Act by Lyndon Johnson, as a day Americans proved larger than bigotry.
"Today, Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado and his colleagues have made history."
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, December 18, 2010
DENVER: As the United States Senate gave final passage today of legislation to repeal the military's discriminatory "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy against gays and lesbians serving our country, ProgressNow Colorado, the state's largest online progressive advocacy organization, joined in the celebration.
"This is a great day for our armed forces, for the ideal of equality that America was founded on, and our progressive elected leaders in Colorado who fought for this change against all odds year after year," said ProgressNow Colorado Executive Director Kjersten Forseth. "Progressives across the state and nation are grateful for the persistence of Sen. Mark Udall, and others who refused to give up."
After a larger defense funding bill that included repeal of DADT was killed in the Senate earlier this month, Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado joined with cosponsors to introduce a "stand alone" version of the repeal independent of other considerations. Today, with the clock ticking down on the end of the present session of Congress, Sen. Udall and his colleagues won the votes necessary for final passage.
Colorado's junior U.S. Senator, Michael Bennet, has also strongly supported the repeal of DADT, as did progressives in Colorado's congressional delegation: Reps. Diana DeGette, Jared Polis, John Salazar, Betsy Markey, and Ed Perlmutter. The U.S. House passed Udall's legislation earlier this week. Repeal of the DADT policy also fulfills a major campaign promise by President Barack Obama.
"Because of this victory, thousands of brave American soldiers will finally be able to serve their country without living a lie," said Forseth. "Whatever happens in the next few years in Washington, this achievement will go down in history as a proud milestone on the road to ending discrimination in this country. Our children will remember this day along with integrating the schools in the 1950s, and the passing of the Civil Rights Act by Lyndon Johnson, as a day Americans proved larger than bigotry.
"Today, Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado and his colleagues have made history."
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