Possibility of ending 'don't ask, don't tell'

From the NY Times:

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is stepping up internal discussions on how gay men and lesbians might be able to serve openly in the armed services, military officials said on Thursday, in anticipation of fulfilling President Obama’s campaign pledge to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law.

The discussions, centered in a small group assembled by Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are in preparation for a possible Senate hearing on the 1993 law this month.

In the year since Mr. Obama’s inauguration, the Pentagon has moved slowly on the issue and even now internal dissent remains over how fast any change should be instituted. At a meeting last week of Admiral Mullen and the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, the officers debated the timing of any repeal and how much stress it would place on the forces.

A one-page memorandum drafted by staff members as a discussion point for the meeting said that the chiefs could adopt the view that “now is not the time” because of the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and that the military would be better off delaying the start of the repeal process until 2011.

The same memorandum, according to a military official who has seen it, also said that “every indicator of opinion over the past 16 years shows movement toward nondiscrimination based on orientation” and that “in time the law will change.”

The official said the memorandum did not necessarily reflect the views of Admiral Mullen and the chiefs. “Not all their views are the same,” the official said.

Neither Admiral Mullen nor Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has publicly voiced an opinion on allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly, although Admiral Mullen permitted a recent article criticizing the prohibition to appear in a military journal that he oversees. Under the current policy, gay men and lesbians may serve in the military only if they keep their sexual orientation secret.

Despite the uncertainty of timing, another military official said that the Department of Defense was beginning to look at the practical implications of a repeal — for example, whether it would be necessary to change shower facilities and locker rooms because of privacy concerns, whether to ban public displays of affection on military bases and what to do about troops who are stationed or make port calls in nations that outlaw homosexuality.

Mr. Obama has come under increasing pressure from gay rights advocates, who met privately in Washington this week to discuss strategy for repealing the law, which requires an act of Congress. One person familiar with the meeting said that the leaders had been told that Mr. Obama would make a decision soon on how to proceed.

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” was instituted in 1993 during the Clinton administration as a compromise measure. Since then, some 12,500 gay men and lesbians have been discharged from the service when their sexual orientation became known, because either they or others made it public.

Opponents of the law say it has been costly, discriminatory and damaging to the unit cohesion it has sought to protect, because it places commanders in the difficult position of forcing the discharge of qualified service members.

Supporters of the law say that repealing it would be as disruptive as requiring women in the military to live in close quarters with men and that it would affect morale and recruitment.

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