A new poll finds a large majority of
Americans back repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”
According to a CBS News poll released
Friday, sixty-nine percent of those surveyed believe gay men and
lesbians should be able to serve openly in the military. That's a
jump of seven points since October.
Twenty-three percent of Americans
oppose open gay service. Fifteen percent strongly oppose repeal of
the law. Another eight percent are opposed to change, but not
strongly.
The survey's results arrive as the
Senate concludes two days' worth of hearings on a Pentagon report
that endorses repeal of the law.
Marine
and Army leaders testified against repeal on Friday, while
Secretary
of Defense Robert Gates and the military's top uniformed officer,
Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
endorsed ending the policy on Thursday.
Repeal depends mostly on whether
Democrats can sway a sufficient number of Republicans to join the
cause. Republicans in September united to block passage of the
measure. However, several GOP senators have said they could vote for
repeal, the
latest being Scott Brown of Massachusetts on Friday.