Congress recognizes a cultural shift

Independent with a Cause!

 

In a landmark series of votes Saturday, the Senate officially recognized a historic change in American public opinion — that in just 17 years, the ban on openly gay men and women serving in the military went from being seen as a necessary compromise to keep peace between two sides in the culture war to a baffling and unnecessary relic of another era. 

“It’s not possible to overestimate the historical significance,” said David Mixner, a longtime Democratic political operative, fundraiser and gay-rights advocate. “It’s a milestone and a historical moment and a turning point. In this incredible, epic civil rights battle, it’s a huge victory — the first victory of this magnitude ever by the Congress of the United States.”

Still, aside from those deeply invested in the fight, most Americans seemed likely to react with an approving shrug. With recent polls showing as many as 80 percent of the public in favor of repeal, the struggles over the legislation within the past year suggested Washington’s consternation with the issue far exceeded worry about it across the country.

In a sign of the cultural shift, even some steadfast conservatives joined the repeal effort at the last moment. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) cast an unexpected vote in favor, citing a “generational transition that has taken place in our nation.” Sen.-elect Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) also said he supported ending “don’t ask, don't tell.”