Source: CNN, China Post, CNN
104 retired military officers have signed a document calling for the Obama administration to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and allow gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military.

CNN's Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports that a lead sponsor of a bill to repeal the US military's policy that restricts LGBT service members believes the law could be overturned in the first year of President-elect Barack Obama's administration.

Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) is a lead sponsor of a repeal bill which has 149 co-sponsors in the US House.

She said in an interview with CNN, "The key here is to get bills that pass the House and the Senate, that we can get to president-elect Obama to sign, and I think that we can do that, certainly the first year of the administration."

A spokesman for Obama's transition office would not comment to CNN for McIntyre's story, but McIntyre points out that Obama suggested during the campaign that he would move cautiously on the issue.

In a September interview, Obama told Philadelphia Gay News he would first get the military on board.

"Although I have consistently said I would repeal 'don't ask-don't tell,' I believe that the way to do it is to make sure that we are working through processes, getting the Joint Chiefs of Staff clear in terms of what our priorities are going to be," Obama told the newspaper.

Instituted in 1993, the policy ended the military's practice of asking potential service members if they are gay, but requires the dismissal of openly gay service members.

Pressure to lift or revise the ban has increased since Obama's election.

Over the weekend, Associated Press reported that 104 retired military officers had signed a document calling for the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" and allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military.

The document was made public Monday by the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, announced Monday, according to CNN.

Retired Adm. Charles Larson, the former Naval Academy superintendent, tops the list of retired general and admirals who want the government to repeal the policy.

"Don't ask-don't tell" was made law in 1993 after opposition ballooned to newly elected President Bill Clinton's plan to lift the military's complete ban on gay service members. The new policy stopped the practice of asking potential service members if they are gay but still required the dismissal of openly gay service members.

The Palm Center, which circulated the statement calling for the repeal of the "don't ask-don't tell" policy, is looking to President-elect Barack Obama to address the controversial issue of gays in the military.

The center points out that Larson, a four-star admiral who supported the measure in 1993, has changed his view on the policy. "There were a lot of witch hunts and a lot of people were turned out on that basis," he is quoted as saying in a Palm Center release, according to CNN.

In July, a House panel weighed overturning the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy -- the first time Congress had considered the rule since it was implemented 15 years ago.

During the hearing, two gay former service members -- former Navy Capt. Joan Dorrah and former Marine Sgt. Eric Alva -- testified against the current law, arguing that unit cohesion would not be hurt if homosexuals served openly.

But Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness said allowing gays to serve openly in the military would be disruptive.

The move by the high-ranking veterans confronts the coming administration of President-elect Barack Obama with a difficult political and cultural problem that dogged former President Bill Clinton early in his Democratic administration.

"As is the case with Great Britain, Israel, and other nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, our service members are professionals who are able to work together effectively despite differences in race, gender, religion and sexuality," the officers wrote, according to China Post.

With more than 11,000 men and women drummed out of the services since DADT became policy under Bill Clinton, DADT has been a disaster, in terms of military service, military readiness and in terms of civil rights.

Retired Rear Admiral Charles Larson opposes DADT and was among those signing the document calling for change, gay.com reports.

Gay rights advocates say it's important for the new President to avoid the ham-fisted attempt President Clinton tried in 1993, when he naively promised to lift the ban by executive order.

That roiled the Pentagon brass -- including then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell -- and provoked a fierce backlash from conservatives in Congress.

Tauscher told CNN that with a new administration, the timing is right to try to pass the bill that would lift the policy.

The Palm Center's release comes just four months after a study conducted by a group of senior retired military officers recommended ditching the military's "don't ask-don't tell" policy.

The group reported they found no evidence that the primary rationale for imposing the policy -- that openly gay or lesbian service members pose "an unacceptable risk" to morale and unit cohesion -- remains valid.

"While this may have been true in 1993, there are indications that this may no longer be the case," the report said.

"In 1993, the finding of 'unacceptable risk' was based on the views of currently serving service members and military leaders, and on the experiences of foreign militaries."

The report also noted the policy has forced out of the military some very talented personnel and put commanders in the position of breaking the law or damaging the unit's cohesion by forcing out "qualified, meritorious" service members.

A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 75 percent of respondents supported allowing gays to serve openly in the military, up from 62 percent in 2001 and 44 percent in 1993, CNN reports.

To meet its goals of increasing numbers, the military has recruited thousands of convicted felons and illegal drug users under its "moral waivers" program, the report noted, while dismissing hundreds more for being gay.

Source: Lawmaker: 'Don't ask-don't tell' can be repealed in year | CNN
Top brass: Repeal don't ask, don't tell | China Post
104 retired military brass against 'don't ask-don't tell' | CNN