The United States military will continue to follow the policy that it's OK to risk your life serving in the armed forces on the condition that you keep it to yourself if you're attracted to someone of the same sex.
Gay soldiers will remain closeted by the federal government following a vote in the United States Senate today on whether to continue the debate over the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Arizona's senior senator, John McCain, deserves much of the credit.
McCain, described by his daughter as "coming along" on things like gay rights, led the effort to make sure the debate over the repeal of the policy failed in the Senate.
It worked.
Democrats needed 60 votes to advance the bill, but came up six short.
McCain vowed to filibuster any effort to move the bill along until a review of the policy is released by military brass.
He also questioned the Democrats' timing with the bill -- it being a little more than a month away from mid-term elections, and all. He charges the Dems with playing politics.
"This is a cynical ploy to try to galvanize and energize their base," McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said of the Dems today.
Three Democrats voted with Republicans to kill the bill. They include Arkansas senators Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid voted no as a procedural maneuver so that he'd be able to reintroduce it quickly. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, didn't vote.
