VIDEO: Lady Gaga Battles 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Lady Gaga is taking on the government. The outspoken popstar led a rally in Portland, Maine against the controversial ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy,’ which is being debated on the Senate floor this week.

The policy, instated in 1993 during the Clinton Administration, bars the military from trying to discover the sexual orientation of its members and also prevents openly gay individuals from joining. Gaga had already released a direct-to-YouTube plea to overturn the act before her rally. Her 18-minute long speech in Portland, called ‘The Prime Rib of America’ was directed towards Republican senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to convince them to vote to repeal the act.

"Equality is the prime rib of America," she said to the crowd of over 2,000, "If the Senate and the President are not going to repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ perhaps they should be more clear with us about who the military is fighting for, who our tax dollars are supporting and ultimately, how much does the prime rib cost?" Gaga has already attracted the attention of Senator John McCain and Senator Harry Reid, who have responded to her outcry, and has appeared on a number of talk shows to discuss her beliefs about DADT. Her next album, in nod to the issue, will be called Born This Way. –AMY LEE

Watch the entire speech below: