President Barrack Obama is coming under increasing pressure from gay groups to end the discharges of gay personnel in the military by issuing an executive order. But on Tuesday, the White House indicated the president would not intervene.

The idea of halting discharges with an order has floated about for some time, but only recently has gone mainstream after several high-profile discharges, including an Arab linguist in the Army National Guard who was fired after he revealed he was gay on national television.

White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs said that the president is looking for “fundamental reform.”

“To get fundamental reform in this instance requires a legislative vehicle,” Gibbs said. “The president made a promise to change the policy; he will work with the Joints Chief of Staff, the administration and with Congress to ensure that we have a policy that works for our national interests.”

Opponents of the law – called “don't ask, don't tell” – say the president has the authority to end the law today. According to a study released by backers of repeal, Congressional approval is not needed to end the discharges.

The report, How to End Don't Ask, Don't Tell: A Roadmap of Political, Legal, Regulatory and Organizational Steps to Equal Treatment, was released Tuesday by a team of military law experts and sponsored by the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“The administration does not want to move forward on this issue because of conservative opposition from both parties in Congress, and Congress does not want to move forward without a signal from the White House,” said Dr. Aaron Belkin, Director of the Palm Center and a study co-author.

Openly gay Congressman Barney Frank, a Democrat from Massachusetts, has said he does not believe repeal will happen this year.

Grumbling about the pace of reform has grown louder as the Obama administration has increasingly distanced itself from gay and lesbian rights issues, including the more liberal use of the word “change” by the administration when referring to the “don't ask, don't tell” law. Previously, officials used the word “repeal.”