House Passes 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal

In a 250-175 vote along largely partisan lines, the U.S. House passed a stand-alone bill Wednesday repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on homosexuals in the military. Just 15 Republicans voted for repeal, only 15 Democrats voted against it.

Two of those 15 Republican votes for repeal came from Florida. Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen voted with Democrats in a measure that would pave the way for homosexuals to serve openly in the military if passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Obama. Diaz-Balart's brother, Mario Diaz-Balart, voted against repeal. Florida Rep. Connie Mack also voted against repeal, but his wife, Republican California Rep. Mary Bono Mack, voted for the bill.