Don't wait to repeal don't ask, don't tell

Sooner or later, a generational shift in attitudes will bring an end to the ban against gays, lesbians and bisexuals serving openly in the military. But, for the sake of national security and civil rights, the Pentagon and Congress should make the change sooner.

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said he wants progress in 2010 toward repealing a law that "denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are."

It's a politically risky move for a president who's failed to win passage of health-care reform and other policy initiatives. Pushing for repeal of the ban - and the accompanying "don't ask, don't tell" policy dating back to the Clinton years - could create even bigger rifts in Congress and the nation.

But there are signs that Americans and the armed forces aren't as concerned about the sexual orientation of men and women in uniform as they were a couple of decades ago.

A Gallup poll last summer indicated that 69 percent of Americans now support allowing openly homosexual individuals to serve. Substantial support was found among conservatives (58 percent), weekly churchgoers (60 percent) and Republicans (58 percent) - three groups that strongly opposed the idea in 1993.

In addition, a 2006 Zoby poll showed that almost three-quarters of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan said they're comfortable serving with gay and lesbian colleagues.

"The average 18-year-old has been around gay people, has seen gay people in popular culture, and they're not this bogeyman in the same way they were" in the past, said Paul Rieckhoff, a former Army platoon leader who is head of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Numerous military leaders, past and present, also recognize the change.

"No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens," Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefts of Staff, said during a Senate hearing this week.

Mullen, former commander of the Norfolk-based 2nd Fleet and former chief of naval operations, bluntly told the Senate that lifting the ban is "the right thing to do." He and others now acknowledge that it's counter to America's best interests to keep talented people out of the military simply because of their sexual orientation.

Consider, for example, the effect of the ban on the military's efforts to recruit, train and retain individuals with language skills direly needed in the fight against Middle East extremists.

In 2005, the Government Accountability Office issued a report showing that more than 750 of the men and women drummed out of the military in the first 10 years of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy were in fields defined as critical, such as voice interceptor and translator. Of those, 322 were trained in "an important foreign language," including 54 skilled in Arabic.

The percentage, as we pointed out in an editorial on this subject in October, may seem small - until you ponder what the absence of just one skilled translator at a critical moment can mean to the safety of our troops or to the safety of Americans here at home.

As a gay woman serving aboard a Norfolk-based ship told The Pilot last fall, "What's worse? Having a terrorist attack? Or having a homo stop it?"

There are logistical considerations that must be addressed before the ban can be overturned. Among other things, Pentagon officials must ensure that existing rules against fraternization are sufficient to deal with any problems with discipline and unit cohesion.

Obama could issue an executive order that would suspend the "don't ask, don't tell" policy at least temporarily. But, ultimately, this decision should be made by Congress.

Rep. Patrick Murphy, a Pennsylvania Democrat and veteran of the war in Iraq, has introduced a bill in the House to lift the ban. He has 187 sponsors - 31 short of the number of votes needed for passage in the House. The Senate also would have to approve the measure.

Certainly, the president could have waited for a more politically expedient time to address this issue, a time that wouldn't risk diverting attention from other problems facing the nation.

But, according to the Defense Department, more than 10,500 service members were discharged under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy between 1997 and 2008.

Much of this occurred at a time when military personnel are being drawn into multiple tours to meet the demands of two wars and at a time when the armed forces need to keep every talented service member they can.

The question isn't whether this is the right time politically to address the ban. The question is how long our nation should continue to delay doing what's in its own best interests and the best interests of gay, lesbian and bisexual service members eager to defend their country.