During the State of the Union address in January, President Obama pledged to “work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are” by the end of this year, stating that it was simply “the right thing to do.”

Immediately thereafter, the president instructed the Department of Defense to begin preparations for repeal of the current policy. On Feb. 2, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates testified before Congress, stating, “The Department of Defense understands that this is a very difficult and, in the minds of some, controversial policy question,” but that the process would be carried out “professionally, thoroughly, dispassionately and in a manner that is responsive to the direction of the president and to the needs of the Congress” and requesting the Senate keep the men and women of the armed forces “out of the political dimension of this issue.”

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Murphy Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2011 on May 27 in an effort to repeal the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy by a vote of 234 to 194.

That same day, a similar measure was passed by the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee with a 16 to 12 majority vote.

The current law prohibits those who “demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts” from serving in the armed forces, on the grounds that doing so “create[s] an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.”

Since 1994, 14,000 members of the armed services have been discharged under this provision, disrupting their lives, families and careers.

Last month, Sen. John McCain, ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, led a successful filibuster against the authorization act, calling it an attempt to “energize the gay and lesbian vote” ahead of elections, forcing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, to vote “no” in order to maintain the procedural flexibility necessary to revisit the measure.

Interestingly, during a 2006 interview with Chris Matthews on our campus as part of the “HARDBALL: College Tour,” McCain said, “The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, ‘Senator, we ought to change the policy,’ then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it.”

More interestingly still, McCain’s daughter, Meghan, an up-and-coming conservative, described the LGBT community’s struggle as “this generation’s civil rights movement,” and has spoken out against DADT on numerous occasions.

Two federal court decisions against DADT have been made this month — one from U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton re-instating Maj. Margaret Witt into the Air Force Reserves after being discharged under the policy, and another from U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips declaring DADT violates First and Fifth Amendment rights, adding that it has a “direct and deleterious effect” on the armed services.

We’re thoroughly disappointed that members of the Senate not only balked at the opportunity to take a stand against discrimination, but outright facilitated it.

Sexual orientation should not preclude someone from military service, and we’re among the majority eagerly anticipating the day our country closes the book on such a detrimental and prejudiced policy.