Pentagon moving to lift ban on gays

Feb 3, 2010, 10:26 GMT

Washington - The US Defence Department announced plans on Tuesday to lift the ban on gays serving openly in the military but cautioned that any change in policy must be cautiously implemented.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said he was setting up a task force to determine how best to eliminate the ban and allow gays to serve openly to ensure a new policy would not disrupt unit cohesion.

President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address that he will work with Congress to repeal a 1993 'don't ask, don't tell' policy that permitted gays to serve but only if they kept their sexuality secret.

The policy has resulted in more than 10,000 dismissals of service members once their sexual preference was revealed, including 428 members in 2009, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

Gates said the task force will evaluate how openly gay service in the military could impact discipline and order within the ranks, as well as a host of other issues, including family benefits under the Pentagon and how to deal with the issue of gay marriage. The review will also examine housing and other day-to-day issues.

'The guiding principle of our efforts will be to minimize disruption and polarization within the ranks,' Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The task force evaluation could take as long as a year, Gates said, cautioning that it could be some time before a change in policy can be fully in practice.

Gay service in the military has been a volatile political issue and has left many in the armed force deeply divided. Gay advocate groups argue the policy violates their right to serve their country, while opponents say openly gay service could compromise unit cohesion and fighting effectiveness, in part because members often work and live in such close and intimate environments.

'Don't ask, don't tell' was passed by Congress in 1993 as a compromise after a long political duel with then-president Bill Clinton, who wanted an outright end to the ban on gays in the military.

Obama campaigned on getting rid of the current restrictions but gay rights groups have complained his administration has moved too slowly to address the issue.

The revised effort will surely put the administration in a political standoff with conservative members of Congress at a time when Obama's job approval rating is slipping in polls, along with his ambitious domestic agenda.

Senator John McCain, the ranking Republican on the committee, said the current law has worked effectively and that it should remain in place.

'Don't ask, don't tell has been an imperfect but effective policy,' he said.

Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff, said he supports Obama's position but warned more needs to be known about how a lift on the ban could affect the military's performance and moral.

'I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have a policy that forces young men and women to lie about who they are' to serve in the military, he said during testimony with Gates.