In the final weeks of a lame duck session of Congress, Senators voted to overturn the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, a 17-year-old policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." President Barack Obama said he will soon sign the bill into law.

The measure allows for a transition period so that the Department of Defense can develop a plan for ending the policy "consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces," according to the legislation. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" would end 60 days after the policy is approved.

The Senate voted 65 to 31 to approve the measure, which the U.S. House of Representatives had approved previously. At one time, the repeal was part of a broader defense authorization bill, but the Senate vote on Dec. 18, 2010, ended up as a vote on a stand-alone measure to repeal the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly

We'll be monitoring the implementation policy to make sure it goes forward and is consistent with Obama's statements that gays and lesbians should be able to serve openly. The Senate vote, however, was the most significant hurdle. Obama has said he intends to sign the measure, so we are ready to move repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell to Promise Kept.