Pennsylvania Congressman Takes The Lead on Ending DADT

Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-Penn)stepped up to the plate to take the lead on overturning Don't Ask, Don't Tell today. The former war vet turned congressman has spoken out against DADT for years. Now with him taking the lead, congress will finally have to face the issue.

Vet Voice has more details.

"It is vital to our national security," Murphy said last week in his first interview since taking over the lead on the so-called Military Readiness Enhancement Act. "We have troops that are fighting in two wars ... and we need every qualified able-bodied individual who is able to serve."

The legislation, which has 150 co-sponsors in the House, would repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which Congress approved in September 1993 and bars the military from discriminating on the basis of a service member's sexual orientation. More than 13,000 military personnel have been discharged for being gay since the law was enacted.

In Murphy, 35, Democratic leadership in the House has an aggressive two-term lawmaker who in 2006 was the first Iraq war veteran elected to Congress. A former prosecutor and West Point professor, Murphy was a captain in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division.

He said he anticipates a drawn-out battle to rally enough support to bring the bill to the floor. The legislation, first introduced in 2005, has never made it out of committee.

"This is going to take months and months, but change is going to happen," Murphy said.

Check out the new web site for Congressman Murphy's effort: LetThemServe.com