Secretary of Defense Robert Gates offered the strongest endorsement of the Pentagon’s Working Group study of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell this afternoon, warning opponents of repeal that if they “choose not to act legislatively,” they are “rolling the dice that this policy will not be abruptly overturned by the Courts.” “It is only a matter of time before the federal courts are drawn once more into the fray, with the very real possibility that this change would be imposed immediately by judicial fiat –- by far the most disruptive and damaging scenario I can imagine, and the one most hazardous to military morale, readiness and battlefield performance,” he said, urging Congress to “pass this legislation and send it to the president for signature before the end of this year.”

Towards the end of the press conference, Gates even expanded on his personal support for repeal, insisting that the ban was inconsistent with military values:

GATES: One of the things that is most important to me is personal integrity. And a policy and a law that in effect requires people to lie gives me a problem. We spend a lot of time in the military talking about integrity and honor and values. Telling the truth is a pretty important value in that scale. It’s a very important value and so for me…A policy that requires people to lie about themselves somehow seems to me fundamentally flawed.

Watch a compilation:

Responding to a question from The Advocate’s Kerry Eleveld, Gates also pushed back against Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) argument that the report did not go far enough in studying the report’s effect on military readiness and effectiveness, saying that McCain “is mistaken.” “This report does provide a sound basis for making decisions on this law,” he said, adding “it’s hard for me to imagine that you can come up with a more comprehensive approach.

Of course many DADT repeal advocates, myself included, have criticized Gates for dragging his feet on repeal and delaying the release of the study until the final days of the Congressional session. And while those criticisms are probably still valid — Gates seemed like a reluctant actor in the DADT drama and he may still wish to slow-walk implementation — it’s fairly obvious that the report’s positive findings and the courts’ recent rulings have moved him to action. Let’s just hope that moderate Democrats and Republicans — particularly those who said they would wait for the release of the report before reaching a decision — heed his advice.

Moments ago, in a press conference announcing the results of the Pentagon’s 10-month review of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, Working Group co-chairs Defense Department General Counsel Jeh C. Johnson and Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, concluded that the risk of repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to overall military effectiveness is low and Gates even urged Congress to act on repeal before the Courts overturn the policy. “Now that we have completed this review, I strongly urge the Senate to pass this legislation and send it to the president for signature before the end of this year,” he said. “It is only a matter of time before the federal courts are drawn once more into the fray, with the very real possibility that this change would be imposed immediately by judicial fiat – by far the most disruptive and damaging scenario I can imagine, and the one most hazardous to military morale, readiness and battlefield performance.”

Johnson added that this resistance to repeal “is driven by misperceptions and stereotypes” and predicted that lifting the ban would not result in a mass coming out of gay troops. “We believe that most would continue to be private and discreet about their personal lives,” he said.

A summary of the results of the survey sent to 400,000 service members as outlined by the two chairmen:

- 70% of Service members said they would be able to “work together to get the job done” with a gay servicemember in their immediate units.

- 69% said they worked in a unit with a co-worker that they believed to be homosexual.

- 92% stated that their unit’s “ability to work together,” with a gay person was “very good, “good” or “neither good nor poor.” (89% for those in Army combat arms units, 84% for those in Marine combat arms units.)

- 74% of spouses of military service-members say repeal of DADT would have no impact on their view of whether their husbands or wives should continue to serve.

- 30% overall (and 40–60% in the Marine Corps and in various combat arms specialties) expressed negative views or concerns about the impact of a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Graph from the report (via JoeMyGod):

Their recommendations for implementation:

- LEADERSHIP AND EDUCATION: Implementation of repeal will depend upon strong leadership, a clear message, and proactive education. The report recommends equipping commanders in the field with the education and training tools to educate the force on what is expected of them in a post repeal environment.

- CODE OF CONDUCT: Not necessary to establish an extensive set of new or revised standards of conduct in the event of repeal. The Department of Defense should issue guidance that all standards of conduct apply uniformly, without regard to sexual orientation.

- RELIGIOUS OBJECTIONS: An important part of the message associated with any repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell should be that Service members will not be required to change their personal views and religious beliefs; they must, however, continue to respect and serve with others who hold different views and beliefs.

- BENEFITS TO SAME-SEX PARTNERS: While DOMA prevents same-sex partners form accessing many benefits, there are some benefits that are available to anyone of a Service member’s choosing. Department of Defense and the Services should inform Service members about these types of benefits, if the policy is repealed. Another set of benefits, which are not statutorily prohibited, but do not extend to same-sex partners under current regulation, should be revised and redefined to include same-sex partners. The Working Group does not, however, recommend that the DoD revise their regulations to specifically add same-sex committed relationships to the definition of “dependent,” “family members,” or other similar terms in those regulations, for purposes of extending benefits eligibility.

- REENLISTMENT: Service members who have been previously separated under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell be permitted to apply for reentry into the military.

Significantly, Johnson also argued that historically, surveys about personnel changes “tend to overestimate negative consequences, and underestimate the U.S. military’s ability to adapt and incorporate within its ranks the diversity that is reflective of American society at large.”

Indeed, as I reported back in July, surveys the military conducted about the troops’ attitudes towards black people between 1942 and 1946 showed that an overwhelming majority opposed integrating black servicemembers into the forces and preferred a “separate but equal” approach that would have required the military to construct separate recreation spaces and facilities. One month before Truman’s executive order, a Gallup poll showed that 63% of American adults endorsed the separation of Blacks and Whites in the military; only 26% supported integration. But in 1948, Truman integrated the forces despite these concerns. Here’s to hoping Congress can do the same, this time, with overwhelming support from military leadership and the men and women on the ground.

As the Pentagon prepares to release its 10-month review of the consequences of repealing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, AmericaBlog’s Joe Sudbay flags this quote from Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), one of only two Democrats to support a Republican filibuster of the measure in September:

In an interview, Sen. Mark Pryor said he will vote against any bill that includes a repeal of the policy.

In the waning days of the current Congress, he said, lawmakers should focus on legislation that aims to produce jobs, not on contentious issues that have stymied them before.

Although the report reportedly says that “don’t ask, don’t tell” can be repealed without undermining military readiness, Pryor said the armed services should deliberate a bit longer before making any policy changes, adding, “I want to give the military the time to do what they’re doing.”

But the status quo won’t last, Pryor said.

“Society has changed a lot,” he said, “and over time, this policy will change.”

While he said he considers homosexuality a sin and is concerned about where gay troops would be housed, “we live in a society where we accept other people’s lifestyles, so I don’t want to be judgmental,” Pryor said.

Still, he voiced concerns that a repeal of “don’t ask” might make life harder for the troops’ anti-homosexual spiritual leaders.

“If the policy is changed, what impact does that have on chaplains?” Pryor asked. “Does it impede a chaplain from doing what he thinks is his duty to God and country?”

Interestingly, Pryor, who has previously said that Congress should “let the military professionals work through their process” “before we start making policy here on ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,’” is announcing his position before even reading the study and is doing so using talking points from the Family Research Council, an organization recently classified as a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Given his characterization of homosexuality as “sin”, the implicit reference seems fitting, even if the attack isn’t. First, military leaders have repeatedly argued that the Pentagon’s review will provide it with sufficient information and guidance into the consequences of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has actually called on Congress to pass repeal in the lame duck session, so as to preempt a court-mandated change. Second, the FRC’s and Pryor’s concerns about the freedom of military chaplains are just fictitious. As Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson — the first openly gay priest elected bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion — has pointed out, policies “designed to preserve and protect the free exercise of religion in the military and would remain in effect after the repeal” of the policy. “No Roman Catholic, fundamentalist Christian or Orthodox Jewish chaplain would have to change her or his beliefs about homosexuality. If any gay or lesbian servicemembers went to one of these chaplains, they would still receive the counseling against homosexuality they have always received. What they wouldn’t receive is a discharge from their military service for being gay and speaking about it,” he writes.

Repeated attempts to contact Pryor’s office via email and phone for a clarification of the Senator’s remarks went unanswered.

On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) echoed Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) concerns about the soon-to-be-released Pentagon study of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, predicting that there isn’t “anywhere near the votes to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” “On the Republican side, I think we will be united in the lame duck [session] and the study I would be looking for is asking military members: Should it be repealed, not how to implement it once you as a politician decide to repeal it,” he said, adding, “So I think in a lame duck setting Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is not going anywhere.”

But a cursory examination of Graham’s past public statements about DADT repeal suggest that the above comments represent a serious rhetorical shift. Graham has previously argued that he was open to repeal if the military supported lifting the ban. Now, he’s criticizing the very same study he said he was waiting to see and review before reaching a decision and he’s making that argument on the eve of the study’s release, as the Pentagon lavishes praise on the ‘comprehensive’ nature of the review:

July 2009: “‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ is a policy I think has served the country well,” said South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, a prosecutor in the Air Force Reserve. “Why should we change it? I’m not going to be persuaded to change military policy by a bunch of political activists. If the military leadership tells me that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ needs to be changed, I’ll certainly be open-minded to that.”

October 2009: “They [military] should be included in this,” said Graham. “I am open-minded to what the military may suggest, but I can tell you, I’m not going to make policy based on a campaign rally.”

February 2010: “Statutory changes to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, I think, are ill advised until the military has a chance to tell us what works and what doesn’t.”

May 2010: “I do not support the idea of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell before our military members and commanders complete their review. This so-called compromise would repeal the legislation first then receive input from the military. This is not the proper way to change any policy, particularly something as controversial as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Graham is likely offering McCain cover for opposing repeal and is trying to line-up support in the GOP caucus, despite the Pentagon’s endorsement of the review and the servicemembers’ strong support for ending the policy. As Secretary of Defense Robert Gates explained to McCain, “The Chairman and I fully support the approach and the efforts of the working group, as do the Service Chiefs. We are confident that the working group’s report will provide us with the information we need to appropriately advise the President, and, if requested to do so, to provide our fully informed views to Congress as it considers legislative action.”

Graham’s rhetoric may also serve as preview of some of the arguments moderate lawmakers — who promised to review the study before voting on repeal — will make to substantiate their ‘no’ votes. They’ll claim that the study was flawed from the very beginning, suddenly closing their “open” minds about repeal.

As President Obama met with the Service Chiefs to discuss the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and tomorrow’s release of the Pentagon’s 10-month report into the matter, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs predicted the administration didn’t “anticipate that the release of the report will do anything but strengthen” the legislative case for repeal, but stopped short of saying that Obama would use the report to lobby undecided Senators on the issue.

Gibbs, who also said that the President had seen parts of the DADT report, made the comments in reply to questions from the Washington Blade’s Chris Johnson:

GIBBS: I believe the President has seen part of [the report]…I think the President strongly believed that this was an issue that can and should be solved legislatively, encourage the Senate to act legislatively on the Defense Authorization bill and particularly on changing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. That’s our position now and I don’t believe the release of the report will do anything but strengthen that case.

Watch it:

While it’s unclear if the report — which has found that the majority of troops don’t oppose repealing the ban — will convince the Chiefs and undecided lawmakers to support repeal, it’s at least reassuring to note that three of the four Chiefs and undecided Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) have praised the review. Navy chief Adm. Gary Roughead and Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz have publicly endorsed the comprehensive nature of the review and Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos — who has expressed concerns about the “risk” of repeal — also predicted that the Pentagon’s review of the policy would inform the military about how best to implement a repeal and allow the Marines Corp to change the policy “smartly.” Webb said, “I can’t remember a study on this type of issue that has been done with this sort of care. Not even having seen it or knowing the results, but I know the preparation that went into it. So it’s going to be a very important study for us to look at and examine.”

When he was running for Senate, Mark Kirk (R-IL) — a Naval Reserve officer — said that he had not served alongside any gay servicemembers during his 21-years in the military, but suggested that he may be open to repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell if the Pentagon’s Working Group study showed that reversing the ban would have no adverse consequences. But this morning — as he prepared for tonight’s swearing-in — Kirk hinted that he would not support ending the ban during the lame-duck session of Congress:

KIRK ON FNC: Well, they’ll probably do an omnibus spending bill and I hope that we complete our actions to ban all earmarks. Then, this Congress should go home. The current majority has lost the election and I think we should reserve the big decisions to the new Congress because they have a new mandate from the American people.

KIRK ON MSNBC: Then there is the question of, what is the proper role of the lame-duck Congress? We have dozens of Congressmen and Senators who are defeated by the American people. I think we should make a very limited set of decisions and then let the new Congress, that has a fresh mandate form the American people, take office and make the bigger decisions.

Watch it:

But given the GOP’s resistance in considering DADT in the new Congress, the next two weeks represent the best chance for repealing the policy and Kirk’s insistence on putting off the measure means that Democrats will now need the votes of two Republicans “to reach the 60-vote threshold” to move forward on the legislation.

Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL), who has held the seat, has been a strong proponent of repeal and voted against the ban in September.

Meanwhile, Joe Sudbay points out that Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AK), who was one of two Democrats along with Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AK) to vote against repeal in September, is likely to do so again. Pryor told the Democrat-Gazette that “the armed services should deliberate a bit longer before making any policy changes.’ He also said he doesn’t want to be ‘judgmental,’ although ‘he said he considers homosexuality a sin.’”

Several weeks ago, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) refused to accept the findings of the Pentagon’s Working Group review of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy and insisted that the Department of Defense conduct an entirely new study on “the effects on morale and battle effectiveness.” This morning, CNN’s Candy Crowley asked McCain to respond to a letter he received from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates — first obtained and published by the Wonk Room — in which Gates defended the soon-to-be released study and argued that it would provide the military sufficient information into the effect of lifting the ban on gays serving openly. “I do not believe that military policy decisions — on this or any other subject — should be made through a referendum of Servicemembers,” Gates wrote, adding, “The Chairman and I fully support the approach and the efforts of the working group, as do the Service Chiefs.”

But McCain remained undeterred. He agreed that decisions about integration should not be held hostage to the opinions of servicemembers, but then insisted that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell doesn’t pose a problem for gay soldiers or the military. He also reiterated that the Service Chiefs — three of whom publicly endorsed the study last week — are still concerned about repeal:

CROWLEY: Doesn’t [Gates] have a point?

MCCAIN: Well, I think he certainly has a point. I would also certainly say that we should remember where this all started. There was no uprising in the military, there was no problems with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. [...]

It wasn’t a problem because you didn’t have. It’s called ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ Okay? If you don’t ask somebody and they don’t tell and it’s an all volunteer force. [...] The fact is, this was a political promise made by an inexperienced President or candidate for Presidency of the United States. [...]

The fact is, that this system is working and I believe we need to assess the effect on the morale and battle effectiveness of those people, those young Marines and Army people I met…

Watch it:

Despite McCain’s assertions, multiple reports have detailed the litany of costs “incurred by the military, the troops — both gay and non-gay alike — and the nation as a result of DADT. Indeed, research and experience now show that the policy is a costly failure that has had the opposite of its intended effect. As DADT scholar Nathaniel Frank points out, far from protecting military readiness, the policy has harmed it, “sacrificing badly needed personnel that is replaced with less qualified talent; undermining cohesion, integrity, and trust through forced dishonesty; hurting the morale of gay troops by limiting their access to support services; wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars; invading the privacy of all service members—gay and non-gay alike—by casting a cloud of suspicion and uncertainty over the intimate lives of everyone in the armed forces; and damaging the military’s reputation which makes it harder to recruit the best and brightest America has to offer.”

McCain’s characterization of President Obama as “inexperienced” is particularly petty, however, since every Democratic president and presidential candidate since President Clinton has come out against the ban.

Clinton signaled that he regretted the 1993 policy in 1999 and 2000, and fully broke with it in 2003, acknowledging that “there is no evidence to support a ban on gays in the military.” He said that the country should move “toward recognizing the full citizenship of gay Americans” and characterized his own policy as one which “unfairly restricts the talent pool available to the military — and that diminishes our security.”

Moments ago, the Justice Department appealed a federal district court ruling reinstating Air Force Major Margaret Witt after she was discharged from the military under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. But the government did not ask the court to stay the decision — suggesting that Witt will be able to serve in the Air Force through the duration of the appeal process.

Back in September, Judge Ronald B. Leighton of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington found that the policy “violates Major Witt’s substantive due process rights under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.” “She should be restored to her position as a Flight Nurse with the 446th AES as soon as is practicable,” he concluded.

Today, the government filed a simple 3 page notice of appeal:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that all Defendants hereby appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from the Judgment dated September 24, 2010 (Docket Nos. 166, 165), the Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law dated September 24, 2010 (Docket No. 164), the Memorandum Opinion dated September 24, 2010 (Docket No. 163), as well as the Minute Order dated March 12, 2010 (Docket No. 70).

Interestingly, Leighton dismissed Witt’s case in 2006, only to be overruled by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2008. That decision established a new precedent (called the Witt standard) which prevented the military from discharging servicemembers under the policy in that circuit unless it could prove that it furthered military goals. The federal government did not appeal that decision and the Ninth Circuit sent the case back to Leighton and on September 24th, he ruled that the government did not meet that burden of proof.

The government’s decision not to request a stay from the Ninth Circuit is significant, however, because it could allow Witt back into the Air Force and save the government a trip to the Supreme Court. After all, a stay request to the very same court that established the Witt standard would have likely been denied, forcing the government to appeal the decision before Justice Kennedy, who decides appeals for the Ninth Circuit. From their, the outcome would have been very uncertain.

Witt has previously said that was “ready” to return back to her job as a nurse in the Air Force and predicted that her unit would welcome her with open arms. “The people in my unit has been behind me 100 percent. You know, I think the most recent statistics are something like 65,000 [gay or lesbian] people are serving every day. All we want to do is our job, so all I want to do is my job. And I think they’ll welcome me back for that,” she told MSNBC in September.

Raw Story’s Sahil Kapur is reporting that Fox News is refusing to air an ad advocating for repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The 30-second spot, produced by the Palm Center, “includes testimony from military leaders of NATO allies arguing that lifting the ban on gay soldiers is a ‘non-event’ and does not diminish combat effectiveness.”

“I am surprised that Fox News would reject an ad featuring allied Generals, given that host Bill O’Reilly and guest contributor Liz Cheney have both expressed support for open gay service,” Palm Center Director Aaron Belkin said in a statement. “This is an important time for input from all sides on this issue, and I hope Fox will reconsider.” Watch the ad:

Fox might argue that the policy is controversial or too hot for television, but popular and political support for the policy has only increased over the last month. A CNN poll released last week found that 72 percent of Americans now want to end the policy, up from from 67 percent in September. Only 23 percent of Americans oppose repeal. Several moderate Republicans have also signaled that they would vote for repeal and Sen. Olympia Snow (R-ME) even called on Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to expedite the process.

The decision is particularly peculiar since the network refused a request by the America Issues Project to buy time on the network to broadcast an ad criticizing President Obama over his friendship with Bill Ayers during the 2008 presidential campaign and this summer, after multiple revisions, “agreed to run a Media Matters for America ad pointing out the cable network’s parent company’s $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association.”

On the other hand, this isn’t the first time Fox News has refused to air a progressive ad. In July, the network rejected an ad by VoteVets, which encouraged a “clean energy climate plan” and before that turned down another spot advocating for ending America’s dependence on foreign oil because it deemed it “too confusing.” In December of 2007, the Fox also refused to air “an ad produced by the Center for Constitutional Rights that criticize[d] the Bush administration for ‘destroying the Constitution’ by the use of renditions, torture, and other tactics.”

In late September, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates expressing his concerns that the Pentagon’s Working Group review of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was operating under the condition that “the policy will be repealed” rather than studying if it should be changed. “I urge you and Admiral Mullen to modify the review and the survey instrument, or to conduct supplemental surveys, aimed at ensuring that the question of whether the DADT policy should be changed is answered,” McCain wrote in a letter dated September 28, 2010. [Read a copy of McCain's letter HERE]

Responding to the Senator’s request in a previously unreleased letter from October 25, 2010, Gates explained that the review was not a “referendum” on the policy, stressing, “I do not believe that military policy decisions — on this or any other subject — should be made through a referendum of Servicemembers.” He also emphasized that the final report would inform military leaders of the impacts of lifting the ban and help guide Congress in its decision making:

GATES: I instructed the working group to obtain the input of Servicemembers so that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and I, as well as the Service Chiefs, can more fully understand how a change in the DADT policy may impact unit cohesion, military readiness and effectiveness, recruiting and retention and family readiness. [...]

The Chairman and I fully support the approach and the efforts of the working group, as do the Service Chiefs. We are confident that the working group’s report will provide us with the information we need to appropriately advise the President, and, if requested to do so, to provide our fully informed views to Congress as it considers legislative action.

[Read a copy of Gates' letter HERE]

Unfortunately, Gates’ response did not assuage McCain, who reiterated his opposition to the study during a recent appearance on NBC’s Meet The Press. But the Senator is one of the only individual concerned about the scope of the report. Two of the four Service Chiefs — Navy chief Adm. Gary Roughead and Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz — are on public record as endorsing the comprehensive nature of the review. Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos — who has expressed concerns about the “risk” of repeal — also predicted that the Pentagon’s review of the policy would inform the military about how best to implement a repeal and allow the Marines Corp to change the policy “smartly.”

Similarly, during a hearing last week, Army Gen. Carter F. Ham — the co-chairman of the Pentagon’s Working Group on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — told Senate Armed Services Committee, “We believe this is probably, as far as I could tell, the most comprehensive assessment of a personnel policy matter that the Department of Defense has conducted.”

Yesterday, the National Journal reported that Navy chief Adm. Gary Roughead, who had previously sent a letter to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) registering his support for Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, struck a more conciliatory note towards the ban after seeing a draft copy of the Pentagon’s Working Group report. “I think the survey, without question, was the most expansive survey of the American military that’s ever been undertaken,” Roughead said during an interview Saturday aboard his plane. “I think the work that has been done is extraordinary.”

This morning, at a breakfast with a group of reporters called the Defense Writers Group, Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz, who also endorsed the policy to McCain, similarly distanced himself from McCain’s claims that the report would not sufficiently inform the armed forces on the consequences of repeal. According to Stars and Stripes reporter Leo Shane, Schwartz described the Working Group review as a “good and healthy” process:

The chiefs, who have all seen draft versions of the report, are not commenting on the results of the Working Group study until it is publicly released on Tuesday, November 30th.

During a press conference, yesterday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the Chiefs were still engaged in ongoing discussions with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen about their positions, but hinted that President Obama would not necessarily need the support of the chiefs to go through with repeal.

Joe.My.God points out that the New Jersey legislature has “overwhelmingly approved” the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, a measure “designed to combat harassment, intimidation and bullying among students.” The bill, which comes in the wake of the suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi — who threw himself off the George Washington bridge after his roommate broadcast an internet feed of him engaged in sexual activity with another man — passed the State Senate and the General Assembly with a veto-proof margin of 30 to 0 and 72 to 1, respectively.

The Bill of Rights eliminates “the vagueness and loopholes that weaken the anti-bullying laws of the 45 states that have them” and establishes a method of enforcement to ensure school compliance. Below are some of the highlights of the new measure:

- The legislation is the first in America to set firm statewide deadlines for incidents of bullying to be reported, investigated and resolved. Teachers and other school personnel will have to report incidents of bullying to principals on the same day as a bullying incident. An investigation of the bullying must begin within one school day. A school will have to complete its investigation of bullying within 10 school days,
after which there must be a resolution of the situation.

- The legislation is the first in America to create a anti-bullying team at each school led by a designated anti-bullying specialist. Also serving on a school’s anti-bullying team will be the principal, a teacher and a parent, and others appointed by the principal.

- The legislation is the first in America to grade every school on how well it is countering bullying – and requires that every school post its grade on the home page of its website. Every school will also be required to post on the home page of its website the contact information for the school’s anti-bullying specialist.

- The legislation incorporates instruction appropriate to each grade to counter bullying, and creates an annual school-wide Week of Respect during which each school will provide anti-bullying programming.

- The legislation strengthens suicide prevention training for teachers, to include information on reducing the occurrence of suicide among bullied students.

Gov. Chris Christie (R) has not said whether he would sign the bill, but “he spoke out against bullying after Clementi’s death.” If he vetoes the measure, the state legislature should be able to pass an override by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of each house (27 votes in the Senate; 54 votes in the General Assembly.)

This afternoon, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs listed repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell as a priority for the lame duck session after the Thanksgiving recess and reiterated the now oft-repeated warning that if Congress fails to lift the ban, the matter could be decided by the courts. “Do this legislatively, which provides an avenue with which to implement the policy. A court doing this is not likely to provide the Pentagon and others with a pathway for doing this,” Gibbs explained.

He also said he expects Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) to hold hearings on the Pentagon’s Working Group study of the policy — whose release has now been bumped up to November 30 — on December 1, but would not say if President Obama personally asked Gates to expedite its release:

GIBBS: I’ll say several things, this is not a totally exhaustive list…There is no doubt that we’ve got to deal with issues around taxes. We’re going to have to deal with issues around unemployment insurance and compensation as well. You’ve heard the President make mention of START…There are issues around Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell that the President and I think many people believe are best dealt with through a legislative process and not through a legal system. [...]

Q: Did the President ask the Pentagon to hurry up to November 30th, its internal report…? [crosstalk]

GIBBS: I think the original date was December 1. Obviously the report is being released a day or so early to have some informal hearings on the survey and its results. I think those hearings, if I’m not mistaken start on the first [of December].

Watch it:

Asked by the Washington Blade’s Chris Johnson if Obama anticipates the service chiefs — all of whom had previously opposed repeal — can be swayed by the report, Gibbs said that the chiefs are still engaged in ongoing discussions with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen about their positions. He added Obama hasn’t yet seen the report, but hinted that he would not necessarily need the support of the chiefs to go through with repeal.

“The President has known where people have stood on this policy for as long as he’s supported changing that policy, so I think it will be important to view the attitudes and to use those attitudes to craft a pathway to implementing a changed legislative policy,” Gibbs said.

In May, Adm. Gary Roughead — the chief of naval operations — sent a letter to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) registering his support for Don’t Ask, Dont’ Tell and his opposition to moving ahead with repeal. “My concern is that legislative changes at this point, regardless of the precise language used, may cause confusion on the status of the law in the Fleet and disrupt the review process itself by leading Sailors to question whether their input matters,” Roughead wrote.

McCain frequently cited Roughead’s opposition and that of the the other service chiefs to slow down the legislative repeal process. But now, after seeing a draft of the report, Roughead is publicly breaking with McCain and praising the Pentagon’s review of the policy:

“I think the survey, without question, was the most expansive survey of the American military that’s ever been undertaken,” Roughead said during an interview Saturday aboard his plane. “I think the work that has been done is extraordinary.” [...]

“I’ve done a review [of the report] and now I’m just trying to put it all in context,” he said. …But he added that the decision on whether to change the law is ultimately rests with Congress. “I’m eager to see where it goes on the Hill,” said Roughead, who previously served as head of the Navy’s legislative liaison operation.

Roughead’s description of the policy echoes the words of Army Gen. Carter F. Ham — the co-chairman of the Pentagon’s Working Group on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — who told Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) last week that the study is, in fact, “the most comprehensive assessment of a personnel policy matter that the Department of Defense has conducted.”

But that’s still unlikely to sway McCain, who has insisted that the Department of Defense conduct an entirely new study on “the effects on morale and battle effectiveness.” McCain made this claim during a recent appearance on Meet The Press, despite the fact that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ specifically asked this review to “assess and consider the impacts, if any, a change in the law would have on military readiness, military effectiveness and unit cohesion, and how to best manage such impacts during implementation.”

Yesterday, Gates has announced that he will move-up the release of the study from December 1 to November 30th, to allow Congress more time to review the report and possibly move to repeal the policy in the lame duck session. “[I]f this law is going to change, it’s better that it be changed by legislation than it simply be struck down — rather than have it struck down by the courts with the potential for us having to implement it immediately,” Gates said today at roundtable with reporters in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has agreed to move up the release date of the Pentagon’s study of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell by one day — from Wednesday December 1st to Tuesday, November 30, Defense Department spokesperson Geoff Morrell said in a statement emailed to reporters tonight. Politico’s Josh Gerstein has Morrell’s statement:

“Secretary Gates is pushing all involved in the Comprehensive Review Working Group’s report to have it ready for public release on November 30th in order to accommodate the desire of the Senate Armed Services Committee to hold hearings as soon as possible.” [...]

“Frankly, December 1st was already an aggressive deadline by which to complete the report, incorporate the views of service secretaries and chiefs and for the Secretary to make a recommendation on the way ahead, but he has further compressed the timeline in order to support Congress’ wish to consider repeal before they adjourn,” Morell wrote. “Now, the Secretary has instructed his staff, without cutting any corners, to have everything ready a day sooner because he wants to ensure members of the Armed Services Committee are able to read and consider the complex, lengthy report before holding hearings with its authors and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

Last week, hoping to ensure that repeal can be passed during the lame duck session, Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) sent a letter to Gates asking the Secretary to release the study as soon as possible. “Given the limited amount of time remaining in the 111th Congress, the soonest possible release of the working group’s report could therefore be instrumental in allowing the defense bill to move forward,” they wrote.

But until tonight, the Pentagon has argued that it was already operating on an expedited timeline and wouldn’t release the study before the first of the month. “We have compressed that timeline such that we are now operating on parallel tracks. Not only is the draft report still being finalized, but we are also doing the internal work that would have taken place after December 1st simultaneously so that we can, on December the 1, not just release the report but the Secretary can state where he wants to take us with regards to this measure,” Morrell said in his press conference on Thursday. He also assured reporters, “Congress will see this report on December the 1, not before December the 1. So don’t go camped out on the Hill, it’s not going to be worth your while.”

A leak to the Washington Post from two sources who have seen a copy of the study have said that more than “70 percent of respondents to a survey sent to active-duty and reserve troops over the summer said the effect of repealing the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy would be positive, mixed or nonexistent. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) is expected to hold hearings on the report during the “first days of December.”

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen reiterated his “concern” over Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos’ widely publicized comments about the potential “risk” of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, telling ABC’s This Week that “what concerned me about his most recent comments, it came at a time where we actually had the draft report in hand, and we had all agreed that we would speak to this privately until we completed the report and made our recommendations up the chain.”

Mullen refused to characterize the Pentagon’s Working Group report — which has allegedly found that 70% of servicemembers would not oppose lifting the ban — until it is released and repeated his “personal” belief that the policy undermines the “integrity” of the “institution.” He stopped short of calling on the Senate to pass repeal in the lame duck session, but echoed Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ comments about the danger of leaving this policy to the courts:

AMANPOUR: And if it does not get voted on in the lame duck session, is there any chance that it will come up in any reasonable time period afterwards?

MULLEN: Well, it — I mean it’s very hard to predict what’s going to happen…from a legislative perspective. The other piece that is out there that is very real is the courts are very active on this, and my concern is that at some point in time the courts could change this law and in that not give us the right amount of time to implement it. I think it’s much better done if it’s going to get done, it’s much better done through legislature than it is out of the courts.

Watch it:

Earlier this month, Gates urged the Senate to take-up repeal in the lame-duck session, saying, “The question is whether it is done by legislation that allows us to do it in a thoughtful and careful way, or whether it is struck down by the courts. Because recent court decisions are certainly pointing in that direction,” he explained.

Indeed, in October, a federal district court issued an injunction against the implementation of the policy. The Pentagon did not enforce the ban for eight days, until the Obama administration appealed the district court’s decision to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. That court issued a stay of the injunction.

This morning, during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen responded to Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos’ concerns about repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, saying he was confident Amos would be able to effectively implement repeal once Congress lifts the ban:

MULLEN: I don’t think there is any question he can. In fact, I’ve spoken to him as recently as last week and he recounted a town hall that he had on the east coast recently and he was very clear and very public to his Marines and he basically said that if this law changes we are going to implement it and we are going to implement it better than anybody else. So I have great confidence in him that if it gets to the change in the law, that the Marine Corps will implement it as he’s described.

Watch it:

Mullen also expressed confidence in the Pentagon’s study of the policy, rebutting Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) recent criticism that the Working Group only studied how the policy should be repealed and failed to asses if should be overturned in the first place. “Very clearly, this was a study that was initiated to look at if and when the law changes, how we’re going to implement it,” he argued. “Key is the leadership that it’s going to take to implement it when the law changes, specifically, and to understand as clearly as we could, the issues that surface from those it would affect the most, our men and women and their families.”

Amos said earlier this month that he was concerned about a possible loss of unit cohesion and combat readiness if the ban is overturned, but has previously stressed that the Pentagon’s review of the policy would inform the military about how best to implement a repeal and allow the Marine Corps to change the policy “smartly.”

In fact, during his confirmation hearings in September, Amos countered McCain’s argument that the Pentagon’s study won’t tell military leaders if repeal would undermine military effectiveness, insisting that “at the end of the day, when all of this information comes to whoever is the 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps in December….will be able to give his best military advise on that.” “If this policy is changed. The last thing you’re going to see your Marine Corps do is try to step in and push it aside. That will simply not be the case,” Amos added. “There will be issues, we’re going to work through them.”

Last night, the Washington Blade’s Chris Johnson reported that Sen. John Ensign’s (R-NV) regional representative “on military issues” told the Stonewall Democratic Club of Nevada that the Senator intended “to vote for the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill, which contains repeal language.” According to Laura Martin, communications director for the club, Ensign’s staffer said he supports repeal. “We asked her to clarify three times and she said he will vote in the affirmative on the defense authorization with ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal in it,” Martin said. The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent confirmed the report this afternoon, noting that Ensign was “leaning towards” supporting repeal of the policy. In a letter to Martin obtained by Sargent, Ensign wrote, “It is my firm belief that Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation, should be able to fight and risk their lives in defense of this great nation.”

But earlier today, Ensign’s office tried to walk back the comments, saying that Ensign was still “waiting on the report from the Pentagon and the testimony of the military chiefs to see if any changes to this policy can or should be done in a way so as not to harm the readiness or war fighting capabilities of our troops.” Tonight, on his program Face to Face, Nevada reporter Jon Ralston interviewed Derick Washington of the Stonewall Democrats of Nevada, who insisted that Ensign’s spokesperson reassured the group that he was on their side. Washington found a silver lining in Ensign’s backtracking, however, noting that the Senator didn’t say that he would filibuster the measure:

WASHINGTON: That is a politicians commitment, yes you are right. But on the other hand he did not say that he is opposed to the repeal. He did not say he would block the repeal. He did not offer any evidence that he is going to be an obstructionist and that is almost as good as we can hope for at this stage.

Watch it:

Ensign is the second Republican to backtrack on a commitment to repeal the policy. Yesterday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced that she would likely back the measure on local Alaska television, but later hinted to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that she didn’t know how she would vote on the issue.

This afternoon, during an interview with KTVA’s Matt Felling, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said that she would not oppose repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell “as long as as long as it is supported by the troops as long as it doesn’t hurt the performance, the morale, the recruitment”:

MURKOWSKI: I have said that I would work to make sure that as long as it is supported by the troops as long as it doesn’t hurt the performance, the morale, the recruitment, that these are all things we want to take into consideration. I think we will see this play out in this report. If in fact, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is included in the defense authorization and we get to a point where we can move that bill through, I would not oppose the Defense Authorization Bill because Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — the repeal of it — is included within it.

Watch it:

Murkowski went on to say that the country was at “different point in time.” “There is clearly a level of acceptance within our communities, at all levels, of supporting and providing for that level of equality for the homosexual community and I think it’s important to recognize that,” she added.

Interestingly, hours after taping this interview (sometime before 4pm EST), Murkowski appeared on CNN’s The Situation Room (after 6pm EST) and suggested that she didn’t know how she would vote on the issue, possibly hinting that her vote would depend on an open amendment process. “I don’t know how it is going to be presented in the upcoming lame duck in terms of that defense authorization bill, and whether or not we will get to that,” she said. “It is indeterminate at this point in time.” Watch it:

Last night during an appearance on MSNBC, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) refused to say if she would vote for a National Defense Authorization Act that included a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but this afternoon, during an interview with KTV’s Matt Felling in Alaska, Murkowski said that she would “not vote against a bill that had that repeal in it.”

Felling appeared on CNN this afternoon to preview the interview:

FELLING: And then I pursued the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell vote because that’s something that she’s been very reluctant to talk about because she wanted to hear from the troops and kick the can down the road. And then today she said, listen there have been leaks out of this poll inside the Pentagon, saying the troops are fine with it being repealed and you know, we are a different sort of warfare there aren’t trenches there aren’t fox holes anymore, I would not vote against a bill that had that repeal in it. And that’s honestly the first time she came swinging on that topic too.

Watch it:

Earlier today at a press conference with 13 other Democratic Senators, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) — the sponsor of DADT repeal in the Senate — predicted that the measure would garner more than 60 votes. “I am confident that we have more than 60 votes prepared to take up the Defense authorization with the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ if only there will be a guarantee of a fair and open amendment process, in other words, whether we’ll take enough time to do it,’ Lieberman said, naming GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Richard Lugar as ‘Yes’ votes. “Time is an inexcusable reason not to get this done.”

Felling’s interview with Murkowski airs tonight on KTVA. Requests for comment from Murkowski’s office were not returned.