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Military urges Congress to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell' policy

‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy change eagerly awaited by area Air Force officer

Do you think people should be allowed to serve in the military if they are openly gay?

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By Margo Rutledge Kissell, Staff Writer Updated 9:12 AM Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The military’s top uniformed officer on Tuesday, Feb. 2, made an impassioned plea for allowing gays to serve openly in uniform, telling a Senate panel that it is wrong to force people to “lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.”

The comments by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, set the stage for the Defense Department’s yearlong study into how the ban can be repealed without causing a major upheaval in the military.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, appearing with Mullen before the Armed Services Committee, announced plans to loosen enforcement rules involving the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that has been in effect since 1993.

The Rev. Dr. Brodie R. Mathis, pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Dayton, sees both sides of the controversial debate.

“One is what I preach and one is just the reality of it,” said Mathis, who served in Army intelligence during his 1970-71 tour in Vietnam. He recalled serving alongside two soldiers he suspected were homosexual.

“They served very well,” Mathis said. “If they’re going to do their job, that’s all we need to know.”

Derek Kaufman, a spokesman for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where two airmen were administratively discharged under the policy since 2008, said, “Until the law is changed, we must follow that. If the policy is changed, we will implement it professionally here.”

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, supports repealing the law he believes “places a strain on our military,” press secretary Meghan Dubyak said.

U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester, thinks this is not the time to look at this divisive issue.

“In the middle of two wars and in the middle of this giant security threat, why would we want to get into this debate?” he said on “Meet the Press” Sunday.

“While at a time when Americans are asking where are the jobs, why do we want to get in this debate?” he asked.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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