Lieberman: 'Proud' to Have Helped Repeal 'Don't Ask Don't Tell'

Former Sen. Joseph Lieberman says he looks with pride at having helped spearhead legislation to repeal military’s “don’t ask don’t tell” policy.

"Everyone of us is created in the image of God,” Lieberman said in an interview with Army Radio, a network operated by the Israel Defense Forces.

"That doesn’t depend on your color, nationality or sexual orientation, and it seems to me that if a soldier is a good soldier, why would you kick them out because of their private sexual orientation?

"So I was very proud in having played a role in repealing that, and I don’t have ambivalence or guilt religiously about it. To me I was doing what I thought my religion required me to do."

The "don’t ask don’t tell" policy – which banned openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people from serving in the armed forces, but allowed them to join if they remained silent about their sexual orientation – was  enacted by the Clinton Administration in 1994.

Lieberman introduced the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 and legislation that led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. It was ultimately approved by the Senate by a vote of 65–31.

The former Democrat turned Independent represented Connecticut as a U.S. senator from 1989 to 2013.

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