The Senate failed to pass a repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy on Thursday. The 57-40 vote stopped just short of the 60 necessary to lift the ban on gays serving openly in the military.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was the only member of the GOP to vote in favor of a DADT repeal, with Sens. Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) backing away from their initial support of the measure. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia was one of a minority of Democrats voting no on the repeal.
MSNBC reports that Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut) and Collins will introduce a stand-alone bill to repeal DADT before the end of the lame duck session.
“We’re not going to give up,” Lieberman said during a press conference. “We’re going to keep fighting until the last possible minute in the session.”
Lieberman said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) promised to support the stand-alone bill.