Seventy-seven Congressional members led by Democratic Representative Alcee Hastings of Florida sent a letter to President Barack Obama Monday urging him to take immediate action to stop the investigations of "don't ask, don't tell" violations. The letter does not call for an executive order halting discharges but rather a change in how the policy is implemented within the Department of Defense.
"It is a presidential moratorium, it is a significant presidential action, but it's not an executive order," said Christopher Neff, political director at the Palm Center, a research institute at University of California, Santa Barbara. "They basically want the military to disregard anyone who 'tells' [of someone's sexuality] as long as there isn't a [Uniform Code of Military Justice] violation or something criminal."
Neff called the move by congressional members "gutsy" and said they were promoting a unique, two-pronged approach to overturning the policy that involved a departmental suspension of investigations followed by congressional repeal of the law.
"Having 77 members step up sends a strong message that there is movement on this issue and that it doesn't have to wait three years for a bill to pass Congress," Neff said.
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