Political Quotes

“He said: This legislation would indeed permit a certification approach as you suggest. . . . The specific concerns you raise will be foremost in my mind as we develop an implementation plan. Without this, I would say, I would not be voting to repeal this. I have spent my entire life in and around the military, including 5 years in the Pentagon. With this understanding and with the notion that we need to be putting a policy into place that allows an open way of living among people who have different points of view, I am going to support this legislation. Exhibit 1 U.S. Senate, Washington, DC, December 17, 2010. Hon. Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, The Pentagon, Washington, DC. My purpose in writing is to reconfirm my understanding that the certification requirements contained in the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 contemplate a sequenced implementation of its provisions for different units in the military, as reasonably determined by the service chiefs and unified combatant commanders in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This was my understanding of the response I received from General Cartwright when I raised the issue during his testimony December 3, 2010. Specifically, I asked if the process could be considered service-by-service, combat arm- by-combat arm, or unit-by-unit. He agreed that this was a correct interpretation.…”