Gay Rights Groups Discuss DADT Repeal At White House Meeting

Gay rights groups and senior Obama officials met Tuesday at the White

House to discuss repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” the 1993 law that

bans gay and bisexual troops from serving openly.

The Washington Post is reporting that President Obama appeared briefly

at the meeting.

The president stopped by “to directly convey to the participants his personal commitment on the issue,” an unnamed official told the paper.

Groups invited included representatives of the Center for American

Progress, the Human Rights Campaign, Servicemembers United, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, the Palm Center, a think tank

at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the Stonewall Democrats

and the Log Cabin Republicans. They met with several senior Obama

officials, including White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina and

senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.

While participants declined to discuss details, several reports are

speculating that a second Senate attempt to repeal the policy during a

lame-duck session after the November midterm elections was discussed

at the meeting

to stop enforcing the ban. Obama has said he agrees that the law should

be repealed but is pursuing an appeal because he's looking for a “durable” solution from Congress.

Advocates for repeal remain optimistic that the law can be repealed this

Adamfoxie blog Int.