Bernie Sanders stood up for gay soldiers — 16 years before "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ended

By: German Lopez

Sen. Bernie Sanders has been ahead of his time on many issues — but that's particularly true for gay rights, which he's been fairly liberal on for decades.

One moment that captured Sanders's progressivism came back in 1995, showcased in the video above. On the floor of the House of Representatives, Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA) criticized the idea of what he called "homos in the military."

Then Sanders, a US House representative at the time, blasted him. "Was the gentleman referring to the many thousands and thousands of gay people who have put their lives on the line in countless wars defending this country?" Sanders asked. "You have insulted thousands of men and women who have put their lives on the line."

This wasn't the public norm at the time. In 1996, nearly half of Americans said consensual homosexual relationships should be illegal, according to Gallup. And even though "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" — signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993 — eased the ban on gay people in the military, it didn't allow gay soldiers to serve openly. (That happened in 2011 after President Barack Obama repealed DADT.)

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