Last year, 28 retired generals and
admirals called for an end to the military's policy of banning gays
and lesbians from serving openly. This year, that chorus has grown a
bit louder with 104 officers agreeing that the gay ban must end,
reports The Associated Press.
The military's gay ban is a Clinton-era
compromise enacted in 1993 called “don't ask, don't tell.”
Former President Bill Clinton forged the compromise to side-step a
wall of military opposition to his pledge to end an all-out ban on
gays and lesbians serving in the military. “Don't ask, don't tell”
does allow gays to serve, but requires they remain closeted.
“As is the case with Great Britain,
Israel, and other nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve
openly, our service members are professionals who are able to work
together effectively despite differences in race, gender, religion,
and sexuality. Such collaboration reflects the strength and the best
traditions of our democracy,” the officers said in a joint
statement.
President-elect Barack Obama has
already signaled he would not take up the issue early on in his
administration, but continues to express support for ending the
military's gay ban on his transition website.
Responding to a series of gay-related
questions during the presidential campaign from Mark Segal, publisher
of the gay weekly Philadelphia Gay News, Obama said he would
repeal the military's gay ban only after building consensus on the
issue.
“I want to make sure that when we
reverse “don't ask, don't tell” it's gone through a process and
we've built a consensus or at least a clarity of what my
expectations are so that it works. My first obligation as the
president is to make sure that I keep the American people safe and
that our military is functioning effectively,” Obama said in
September. “Although I have consistently said I would repeal
“don't ask, don't tell', I believe that the way to do it is make
sure that we are working through a process, getting the Joint Chiefs
of Staff clear in terms of what our priorities are going to be.”
Obama compared his consensus-building
approach to ending the gay ban to earlier efforts to integrate female
service members.
“That's how we were able to integrate
the armed services to get women more actively involved in the armed
services,” Obama said.
Gay groups who have worked tirelessly
to remove the prohibition were especially happy to see Retired
Admiral Charles Larson, a four-star admiral and two-time
superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, among the signatories.
Larson supported the gay ban in 1993,
but said working closely with a number of gay colleagues and
discussing the issue with his lesbian daughter had changed his view.
“I think the time has come to find a
way to let talented, young, patriotic Americans who want to serve
their country serve,” Admiral Larson said. Responding to
proponents of the gay ban who say openly gay service members would
“sexualize” the military, he said, “[L]et's enforce high
standards for personal and human behavior for everyone.”