US President Barack Obama announced on Friday that a ban on gays serving openly in the US forces would end in September as he certified that the nation’s military was ready to accept them among its ranks.
“Today, we have taken the final major step toward ending the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law that undermines our military readiness and violates American principles of fairness and equality,” Obama said in a statement.
He spoke after signing certification with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and the top US military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, that the US military was ready to accept gay troops.
The repeal of the ban will now come into force in 60 days’ time, on Sept. 20.
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was overturned in a law adopted in December that first required the top military officer, the defense secretary and the president — who is also commander-in-chief — to certify the change would not harm military readiness and that the armed forces were ready to carry it out.
In the interim, the Pentagon has drawn up new manuals and prepared the entire armed forces, about 2.3 million people who serve as both active troops and reservists, for the new policy.
“As of Sept. 20, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they are in order to serve our country,” Obama said. “Our military will no longer be deprived of the talents and skills of patriotic Americans just because they happen to be gay or lesbian.”
Panetta said the Pentagon had “taken the time necessary to get this done right and to ensure that service members are properly trained for a change that I believe is essential to the effectiveness of our all-volunteer force.”
The decision was taken after the military service chiefs, service secretaries and all the combatant commanders stated that “the force is prepared for this change,” the Pentagon leader added.
Former soldiers and gay rights groups have fought for years to overturn the ban, introduced in 1993 as a compromise after military chiefs rejected a bid by former US president Bill Clinton to open the doors to gay soldiers.
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” required gay troops to keep quiet about their sexual orientation or face expulsion from the forces, and an estimated 14,000 service members have been kicked out of the military under the rule.
The issue stirred a passionate debate, with some US lawmakers, mostly Republicans, as well as high-ranking officers such as Marines Corps Commandant General James Amos fearing it would harm efficiency on the battlefield.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon said Obama had not taken seriously concerns “that the combat readiness of our force could be placed at risk, particularly those serving on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
And he urged the administration to release the assessments on the impact of the ban’s repeal.
However, rights groups hailed the move.
“The days of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ are quite literally numbered,” said Laura Murphy, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office. “Very soon, gay and lesbian service members will be able to serve their country openly, honestly and with the dignity they deserve and for far too long were denied.”
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