Defense Secretary Robert Gates will unveil the Pentagon’s plan to prepare for repealing the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” law regarding gay soldiers at a committee hearing Tuesday, according to CNN.
“The Defense Department leadership is actively working on an implementation plan and the secretary will have more to say about this next week,” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said on Thursday.
President Obama said in his first State of the Union address Wednesday night that he would work with Congress and the Pentagon this year to repeal the law that prohibits military members from acknowledging openly that they are gay.
More here from CNN:
The Senate Armed Services Committee has scheduled an hour to discuss the issue at Tuesday’s hearing on the fiscal year 2011 defense budget, which Gates will attend.
The last time the issue was debated was 1993, when President Clinton tried unsuccessfully to allow openly gay men and women to stay in the military.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
The resulting compromise had Congress pass into law a ban on homosexuality in the military, but Clinton implemented a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on enforcing the ban.
