On December 9, 2010, the US Senate fell three votes short of the 60 votes needed for a cloture motion for a defense spending bill, which included a provision for the repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy regarding gays in the military. This failure to adopt a motion for cloture followed a similar failure on September 21, 2010, during which the motion fell short by four votes. President Barack Obama requested that Congress continue to work together towards a repeal of the ban on openly gay service members in the US military, which eventually passed on December 22, 2010, and took effect in September 2011.



Read an overview of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in Features.

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