Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) appears to be walking back his statement from yesterday that he is open to repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Today, The Desert News quoted the Senator as saying that “it’s deeply regrettable that liberal groups are misconstruing my position on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ for activist purposes. I certainly do not support repealing this policy.”
Yesterday, we reported that Hatch said on MSNBC that he’d “have to look at” proposed changes to the policy before making a decision about them.
MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell said “I can put you down as at least being open to the idea” of changing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Hatch replied: “I am.”
According to Deseret News, Hatch today spoke out against this characterization:
“What I said was that I want to see Adm. Mullen’s report,” said Hatch. “This is a controversial issue with inflamed passions on both sides.”
He continued: “Over the years, the views of the military officers and experts, whom I respect, have said that repealing ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ would make life for our troops more difficult — especially as our armed forces wage a global war on terrorism.”
I always try to be fair and stand by what’s right and that is why I look forward to reviewing the admiral’s report,” he said.
