North Carolina’s Senator Kay Hagen votes in favor of repeal
By L.A. Williams
Christian Action League
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Supporters of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and opponents of tax-funded, elective abortion both have reason to celebrate as liberals in the U.S. Senate failed to get enough votes Tuesday to bring the National Defense Authorization Act to the floor for a vote.
Lawmakers pushing the bill — which many believe would have undermined military readiness, privacy and recruitment in addition to curtailing the religious liberty of those in the military who oppose homosexual behavior on Biblical grounds — needed 60 votes to invoke cloture and trump efforts to filibuster. But even with 54 Democrats and two independents supporting the move, they lacked four votes.
“This is a great victory, not only to preserve ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ but also because the bill would have opened the door to elective abortions on military bases,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. “We appreciate all those who took time out to phone their lawmakers and let their voices be heard.”
The CAL had joined the American Family Association, the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and other organizations in alerting members to the vote and asking them to contact Senators. The Rev. Creech faxed a letter to Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC), reminding her of the traditional Christian values of thousands of her constituents in the Tar Heel state. “I believe I can say with much confidence that it [the bill] is not in keeping with the values of the people of North Carolina,” Creech wrote.
Still, Senator Hagan voted in favor of the measure. “This is the problem in our State,” said Rev. Creech. “There are some who are so caught up in party politics – so committed to a political ideology baseless in truth – so far removed from the pulse of the people – they are seemingly deaf, dumb, and mute to the matters we value the most. They are driven by what’s inside the beltway, whether it’s Washington or Raleigh, and not what’s inside their constituent’s hearts. Whatever Senator Hagan was thinking to be counted as a ‘Yes’ vote in favor of this measure is unacceptable. Its’ just too far removed from what North Carolinians generally believe. Thank God for the country this legislation faltered and the failure of it wasn’t dependant on her vote alone.”
Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) was counted as voting “No.”
Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, heralded the Senate’s decision as did Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.
“This is a victory for the men and women who serve our nation in uniform. At least for now they will not be used to advance a radical social agenda,” Perkins wrote in a press release.
Land called the bill’s defeat “a good day for the American military and a good day for unborn Americans.”
The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy enacted in 1993 keeps homosexuals from serving openly and prohibits military commanders from asking service members about their “sexual orientation.”