First Powell, Now Sen. Orrin Hatch: Can Gay Activists Exploit the Momentum to Repeal DADT?

Update:

Senator Hatch’s office released this statement today stating:

Sen. Orrin Hatch says the left-leaning media misconstrued his comments in a TV interview Wednesday that seemed to imply he would be open to repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which requires gay service members to keep their sexual orientations secret.

“I certainly do not support repealing this policy,” he said in a statement trying to clarify his views and blasting activist groups for “misconstruing my position.”

His clarification contradicts his earlier statements on this issue.

He still needs to see just what sort of proposal the White House and Pentagon has in mind, but Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Republican from Utah, says he won’t stand for prejudice of any kind, and that includes prohibiting gays from serving openly in the military.

Moreover, the doesn’t believe this crap about how once you let the gays have their rights, everyone is going to start asking for “special rights.”

This is fantastic. What you have, here, is a senior Republican senator backing an effort for equality (and disagreeing with a one Sen. John McCain, who supports continued discrimination). This is the same man who voted (twice) to ban gay marriage at the federal level, against adding sexual orientation to federal hate crimes statutes, and told Utah’s GOP they should be proud because “we don’t have the gays and lesbians with us.”

The announcement arrives on the same day as Gen. Colin Powell’s fullest endorsement yet of a DADT repeal. Also huge.

[ Queerty ]