In Historic First, Military Leaders Call for Repeal of Ban on Openly Gay Servicemembers

We begin today’s show looking at the controversy over the U.S. ban on openly gay men and lesbians serving in the military. On Tuesday the Pentagon’s top leaders voiced support for the first time for an end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the military policy that bars gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military. The comments from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came less than a week after President Obama called for the policy to be repealed during his State of the Union address.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates also backed repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell but said the Pentagon needs a year to review the policy change.

It remains unclear whether President Obama has enough votes in Congress to push the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell through Congress. On Tuesday Senator John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, expressed his opposition to the policy change.

To talk more about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, I am joined by two guests. Alexander Nicholson is a former U.S. Army human intelligence collector who was discharged in 2002 under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He is the founder and executive director of Servicemembers United, a national organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans and their allies. He joins us in Washington. Here in New York is Nathaniel Frank, a senior research fellow at the the University of California-Santa Barbara’s Palm Center and author of the book “Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America.”

Nathaniel Frank, Senior Research Fellow at the the University of California-Santa Barbara’s Palm Center and author of the book “Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America.”

Alexander Nicholson, former U.S. Army human intelligence collector who was discharged in 2002 under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He is the founder and executive director of Servicemembers United, a national organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans and their allies.

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