Obama Vows Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

(Jan. 27) -- It was just one sentence, buried deep within the State of the Union address. But for gay rights advocates who have been less than enthralled with President Barack Obama in the past year, they at least made the cut.

"This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are," Obama said.

Obama's pledge comes after a year of mixed blessings for gay rights supporters, who have criticized the president for ignoring or moving too slowly on their issues.

The president's renewed commitment to end "don't ask, don't tell" prompted strong opinions from the military and several members of Congress as well.

From the military's top officials, there were concrete signs that the president's policy would be respected. Navy Capt. John Kirby, spokesman for Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Washington Post that "the chairman and the [service] chiefs understand perfectly the president's intent, and they look forward to being able to provide their best military advice about the implementation of repeal." He also said plans to carry out the repeal are in the works.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered a much more definitive sign of approval, applauding when the president said the repeal was "the right thing to do."
The president has vowed twice before to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which requires gay and lesbian service members to remain in the closet if they want to stay in uniform. But calling out the goal in his annual address to Congress signaled that he did not believe the nation could afford to oust qualified service members because of their sexual orientation in a time of war. At least 23 countries, including key allies in Afghanistan such as Britain, Australia and Canada, allow gays to serve openly in their militaries.

More than 13,500 service members have been discharged from the U.S. military due to their sexual orientation since 1994, when the law went into effect. President Bill Clinton had made lifting the ban one of his first priorities as president, but a backlash from conservatives and military brass forced a compromise that allowed gays to serve as long as they kept quiet about their private lives.

According to UCLA's Williams Institute, which studies sexual orientation, there are an estimated 66,000 closeted gays and lesbians serving in the U.S. military today.

"The commander in chief sent a clear message tonight that in a time of war, what matters is that our men and women get the job done, not whether they're gay or straight," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.

According to a New York Times report, Pentagon leaders have been quietly meeting in recent weeks to work out the details of ending the ban on openly gay and lesbian service members. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters today, "We continue to work this problem. But I'm not going to get into it with any more specificity than that."

Gates and Mullen have both expressed sympathy toward modifying the policy. Indeed, when Obama mentioned lifting the ban during the speech, Gates politely applauded while Mullen and the rest of the nation's senior military leaders sat stone-faced.

The Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would repeal "don't ask, don't tell" with a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, currently has 187 co-sponsors in the House. There is no equivalent measure pending in the Senate.

Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Service Members Legal Defense Network, a gay rights group, applauded Obama's call and urged the president to include an amendment to the defense budget currently being drafted. Last year, long-debated hate-crimes protection for gays was similarly slipped into a must-pass defense bill.

"That is probably the only and best moving bill where 'don't ask, don't tell' can be killed this year," he said. "This is the year to repeal the law. What is also needed is more attention and leadership to win repeal. The American public, including conservatives, is overwhelmingly with the commander in chief on this one."

While voters have rolled back same-sex marriage in California and Maine, a majority of Americans appear more accepting of gays in the military. A Washington Post/ABC News poll in July 2008 found 75 percent believe lesbians and gays should be allowed to serve openly.

Attitudes also are changing within the ranks. While many senior officers remain opposed to allowing gays to serve openly, a growing number of retired top brass have spoken out against the policy. And a December 2006 Zogby poll of troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan showed a shift toward greater acceptance of gay peers.