"Today, there were no surprises in the testimony provided by General Casey and General Schwartz," said Jarrod Chlapowski, an advocate on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" for the Human Rights Campaign. "In recent testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Secretary Gates and Chairman Mullen made it clear that 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' needs to be repealed and that the military must investigate how to best do so. General Casey and General Schwartz raised no fundamental concerns with this approach. As the debate moves forward, HRC will continue to advocate for repeal this year."

On Monday, Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) announced that he will introduce a bill in the U.S. Senate to repeal the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law. Representative Patrick Murphy (D-PA) is the lead sponsor of similar legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Since President Obama delivered his State of the Union address last month, where he called for ending the ban on openly gay and lesbian Americans from serving in the military, there has been a nearly unanimous and diverse group who have spoke out in support of doing away with the law. Some of those include:

Now is the time to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." To be part of the effort to ensure that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is repealed this year, please write your member of Congress.

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.