U.S. Representative Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican, is part of an effort to restore at least part of the recently repealed "don't ask, don't tell" ban on openly gay members of the military. The Restore Military Readiness Act attempts to derail the repeal passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama at the end of last year. "On the front lines, the people in combat, let's let them have special consideration of not imposing this in their situation," Lamborn tells the Gazette. The new resolution would also require the top four armed services chiefs to sign off on the repeal, notes the Colorado Independent, which quotes Lamborn as adding, "It is vital that Congress not interfere with our military's ability to defend our nation and win wars."

U.S. Senator Mark Udall, a Democrat from Eldorado Springs who co-sponsored the DADT repeal, says the new resolution is misguided, adding that each military chief told him they would implement the law "thoroughly, professionally, and with conviction....I’m quite sure that the chiefs themselves would not see this proposed bill as a step forward. It is, in fact, a step back." Meanwhile, Udall has been named to the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence, which oversees all the federal agencies that gather intelligence information on national security issues. It's Udall's fourth committee assignment; the others include Armed Services, Energy and Natural Resources, and the Special Committee on Aging (also via the Independent).