Harry Reid: Senate will vote on DADT repeal next week

Washington, D.C. - The Senate will vote next week on repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the 1993 law that forbids gay troops from serving openly.

Aides to Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed the Nevada senator's decision to various news outlets.

The repeal language is tucked inside the annual Defense Department authorization bill approved by the House in May.

Gay rights activists working on repeal of the law that demands discharge for gay and lesbian service members who do not remain closeted or celibate cheered the news.

"We applaud the senate majority leader's courage and his statement tonight to bring the defense bill to the floor. Now we must deliver," Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), the largest group lobbying for repeal, said in a statement.

Republicans, led by Arizona Senator John McCain, have threatened to filibuster the bill.

"Sen. John McCain has been a strong and vocal opponent from the start and it is critical that we beat back any filibuster threat, defeat attempts to strike repeal, and defeat any crippling amendments," Sarvis said.

The news comes ten days after a federal judge in California ruled the policy unconstitutional.