Top defense officials in favor of lifting military gay ban

Expressing support for lifting the "don't ask, don't tell" law, Mullen said that to defend their country, gays must not be required to "lie about who they are."

The “don't ask, don't tell” act calls for keeping under covers the sexual orientation of homosexual or bisexual individuals, if they want to serve in the armed forces of the Unites States. The reason is that the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, which are considered mandatory for military service, might be put to unnecessary risk if gays openly discuss their sexual preferences.

Adm. Mullen has strongly condemned the restrictions on the disclosure of sexual preferences of gays, becoming the highest-ranking military officer to do so.

Homosexuals lie to defend?
“It is my personal and professional belief that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would be the right thing to do,” he said. “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.”

The views of the society regarding homosexuals may have evolved, but convincing the people in power to agree to repeal the restriction is still a tough task.

President Obama has already said he would work to change the law this year. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who also worked in President George W. Bush's administration, said that the changes could not be implemented immediately and that the Pentagon would spend the next 11 months "thoroughly, objectively and methodically" looking into this matter.

“I fully support the president's decision,” Gates said. “The question before us is not whether the military prepares to make this change, but how we best prepare for it.”

“Fair manner” required
The defense chief revealed that a panel, to be led by Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson and Army Gen. Carter Ham, will be appointed to develop a plan for securely incorporating gay individuals in the country’s armed forces.

The panel will present its report by the end of this year.

Also, the next 45 days will see the Pentagon reviewing a way to enforce the present law in “a more human and fair manner,” said Gates.

However, it is still unclear if the White House will be able to persuade enough Democrats to vote in favor of removing the restrictions.

Republicans, however, seem to be united against lifting the restrictions. GOP lawmakers, including Sen. John McCain, are opposing the change.

Discharging gays
Recently released figures reveal that more than 10,900 troops have been discharged under the policy.

"When somebody makes a decision to join the military, they don't join the military because they're gay or they're straight or to be more straight or to be more gay," said Lt. Dan Choi, who was discharged after publicly disclosing that he’s gay.

"They do it because they believe in the values of our country, that it's worth protecting, and that's the reason why I joined," he added.