Senate Republicans and a couple of conservative Democrats killed a measure that would have made it possible to end the ban on gays in the military. Because the bill probably won’t be brought up again until after November, and the next Senate is expected to grow more conservative, it could be years before gays are allowed to serve openly.

According to a Gallup poll conducted in May, 70 percent of Americans “continue to favor allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the military, with continued majority support from every key demographic subgroup.”

BBC:

Earlier, the only Republican senator to support repealing the law, Susan Collins, said she was withdrawing her support.

In the event Democratic senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor both sided with Republicans to block the bill, while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, also voted against the measure as a procedural tactic.

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