Articles

Acceptable deal on "don't ask"
Though we'd rather see an immediate repeal of the military's policy on gays, the current compromise is the next best thing.

By The Denver Post
Posted: 05/29/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT

A reasonable compromise is allowing Democrats to gain speed on repealing the shameful law that prevents gay men and women from serving openly in the U.S. military.

The compromise would strike the law from the books, but allow the Pentagon to complete a study it claims it needs to work through before it can integrate gays and lesbians without the heinous "don't ask, don't tell" provisions that have been in place since 1993.

Once that study is completed in December, the repeal could be implemented among the ranks within 60 days. The compromise takes the form of an amendment to the much broader yearly Pentagon policy bill.

Granted, we would much rather see — and have consistently argued for — an immediate repeal.

We think it is an outrage that men and women serving and fighting for our country have to keep it a secret if they are homosexual. Treating these brave men and women as second-class citizens and asking them to essentially live a lie is not consistent with American values.

But without the compromise, a repeal looked unlikely.

Colorado Sen. Mark Udall and Rep. Jared Polis are to be applauded for leading a push for the compromise version.

Udall joined 15 other senators on Thursday to get the repeal measure through the Senate Armed Services Committee. Polis, the first openly gay man to be elected to the House, joined Colorado's Democratic representatives and enough national Democrats to pass the measure in the House. Only five House Republicans voted "yes" on the repeal.

Initially, President Obama, who promised on the campaign trail to put an end to "don't ask, don't tell," supported a plan for repeal that we felt was tragically ill-advised. Though Obama won the support for repeal from the Pentagon's top two officials, the president's idea was to allow the military to conduct the implementation study, and then ask Congress to repeal the measure after its completion in early December.

We worried that strategy was a politically expedient (and unsuccessful) attempt to please gays and lesbians while providing political cover for Democrats in an election year. Our concern was that by kicking the can down the road, the Democrats could lose their supermajority after the November elections and, with it, the ability to repeal.

But the compromise would strike the law now and postpone the political fallout that likely will occur while implementation actually takes place.

The matter remains controversial, despite the fact the "don't ask, don't tell" ban has ruined the careers of an estimated 14,000 men and women.

Many top military figures remain opposed to repealing the ban, and Sen. John McCain is threatening to filibuster in the Senate.

We think such opposition is deplorable, and we urge the Senate to see this compromise through.