Report: Gay troops okay to come out

Gay troops can serve openly in the armed forces without harming the military's ability to fight, the Pentagon's top leaders said yesterday, declaring the 17-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" law should be scrapped and pointing to a new survey to show most troops won't mind.

President Obama, citing the troop poll, urged the Senate to repeal the ban before adjourning in the next few weeks. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, supports a repeal and appeared with other senators last week at a press conference devoted to decrying the policy. A spokesperson for Republican Judd Gregg, New Hampshire's other senator, said Gregg would not have a statement on the matter last night.

There is still no indication GOP objections can be overcome with just a few weeks left in the post-election lame-duck session. Still, the survey did put new pressure on Republican opponents, led by Sen. John McCain, who say efforts to repeal the law are politically motivated and dangerous at a time of two wars.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the ban on openly gay military service "requires people to lie," and he called for quick Senate action.

"We spend a lot of time in the military talking about integrity and honor and values. Telling the truth is a pretty important value in that scale," Gates said as he released the Pentagon study showing that most people currently in uniform don't care about the ban.

Senate Democrats plan to force a vote in December. Senate Republicans were generally silent following release of the Pentagon recommendations for repealing the ban.

Although historic, yesterday's recommendation that the military for the first time allow openly gay people came with a caveat that also frustrates many supporters of repeal. Gates wants an indefinite grace period while the Pentagon prepares for the policy change and phases it in.

"It would be unwise to push ahead with full implementation of repeal before more can be done to prepare the force, in particular those ground combat specialties and units, for what could be a disruptive and disorienting change," Gates said.

Critics led by McCain say the Pentagon's report doesn't address risks to morale and fighting mettle. Gates countered: "I obviously have a lot of admiration and respect for Senator McCain, but in this respect I think that he's mistaken."

Obama has called it a top priority to repeal the 1993 law that bans openly gay service. But gay rights groups have complained that he and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have done too little to see it through, focusing their postelection efforts instead on tax cuts and a nuclear arms treaty with Russia before Republicans gain congressional strength when lawmakers return in January.

In the report, the study's co-chairmen, Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson and Army Gen. Carter Ham, wrote, "We are both convinced that our military can do this, even during this time of war."

Gates said he didn't think the Pentagon would have to rewrite its regulations on housing, benefits or fraternization to accommodate gays if they were allowed to serve openly.

A defense policy bill that would overturn the law - pending certification by the Pentagon and the president that doing so wouldn't hurt the military's ability to fight - has languished in the Senate since it passed the House this spring.

In the meantime, a federal judge ordered the Pentagon to stop enforcing the law because it was unconstitutional. The Obama administration is appealing that decision.

"Given the present circumstances, those that choose not to act legislatively are rolling the dice that this policy will not be abruptly overturned by the courts," Gates said.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said repealing the ban was discussed during a two-hour meeting yesterday between Obama and lawmakers and was the sole focus of a session Monday with the military service chiefs. He declined to provide more details. (next page »)