During her recent reelection campaign, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray was emphatic about her opposition to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy—the policy that forces gay and lesbian servicemen and woman to hide their sexual orientation.

Here's what we wrote during our live-blog coverage of her first debate with Dino Rossi:

Murray kills it on a question about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. “I am a sponsor of the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I’ve talked to so many men and women who’ve … served their country honorably and they know that everybody who wants to give back to their country by serving in the military ought to be able to do it. Major [Margaret] Witt [the lesbian Air Force major who won the recent victory on DADT] is a hero.”

And she concluded: “I don’t know how you look someone in the eye and tell them after they’ve served…that all of the sudden they’re a second-class citizen.” Gays and lesbians should be able to serve “like anybody else.”

Rossi’s rather limp response: We need to wait for the results of a survey of military men and women. “I want to see what the commanders, but also the military men and women, have to say about this … and thoroughly investigate this before we make a decision. … We have to make sure that it actually works and makes sense.”

Today, Murray stood by her campaign rhetoric, sending a letter to U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), the chair of the senate armed services committee (who supports the repeal), and U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the ranking Republican (who has flip-flopped his way into not supporting the repeal), demanding that the DADT repeal is part of the defense budget bill. (The defense bill passed the House in May with the DADT repeal. The GOP filibustered the bill in September .)

The NYT reported yesterday that senators favoring repeal believe they have the votes.

Here's Sen. Murray's letter:

Chairman Levin and Ranking Member McCain:



I believe that now is the time for Congress to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in the military by repealing the statute underlying “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  It was a huge step forward when the Senate Committee on Armed Services included a repeal provision in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011.   Now I urge you to ensure that this provision remains in the bill as it is brought before the full Senate for consideration.



As you know, thousands of servicemembers have been separated from the military, including many with critical military skills, under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.  I have heard the stories of some of the thousands of patriotic servicemembers whose valuable military talents have been lost to our military. These men and women volunteered to serve their country in a dangerous time, and their exclusion from the ranks of the Armed Forces represents a glaring injustice as well as a limitation on our military effectiveness.



As a cosponsor of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2010, I support a responsible path towards repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  On May 27, 2010, the Armed Services Committee adopted a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal amendment to S. 3454, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011. This amendment reflects a compromise agreement that would repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” statute – but it would do so sixty days after the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that repeal “is consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces.” It also ensures that the views of servicemembers and their families on how repeal should be implemented are understood and considered.  I believe this represents a sound legislative approach that would protect the civil rights of American servicemembers while minimizing any potential disruption to military personnel policies.



Thank you for your continuing work on behalf of U.S. national security and the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces.  I look forward to working with you in the days ahead to pass a comprehensive defense authorization bill during this Congress that addresses the most pressing of defense policy concerns – the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”