Meghan Hughes (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on the Senate Armed Services Committee vote to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’  The vote was 16 to 12 in support of repeal.  Graham opposed the effort. 

“The Committee’s decision to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell before we receive input from the military is a serious mistake.  This action is contrary to the agreement we had reached earlier in the year. 

“No one is fooled by what they’re doing here.  The Speaker of the House reached a compromise with certain Senate Democrats to go ahead and repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell before the November elections. 

“Our men and women in uniform are already heavily laden, and I'm worried about how this change will affect them.  It seems very unfair, at a time when the nation is involved in two wars, to make this dramatic change without the input of all our service members, including our enlisted personnel. 

“Once Congress decides to repeal the law, I believe requesting input in the future will be seen as a joke by our service members. 

“The biggest mistake the Committee made was trying to convince our men and women in uniform that we care what they think when, by our actions today, we clearly do not. They deserve better.” 

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