Council Bill Would Urge End Of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

By BENJAMIN SARLIN, Special to the Sun
January 25, 2008

The military should end its "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward gays, City Council members say in a resolution that will be debated Friday.

The resolution urges President Bush to allow openly gay men and women to serve in the armed forces.

"There are plenty of people who are LGBT in the military right now, so I don't even understand why it's such a fuss," one of the resolution's co-sponsors, Council Member Gale Brewer, said yesterday. "They are extremely good officers like anyone else."

The "don't ask don't tell" policy, enacted under President Clinton in 1993, allows gay men and women to serve in the military, as long as they do not disclose their orientation. Since the policy was put into place, thousands of gays and lesbians have been expelled from the military for violating it. In May, 79% of Americans surveyed in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll supported allowing openly gay people to serve in the military, while 18% opposed it.

"I think this policy is counterproductive, and I think that allowing gays to serve in the military can only help our armed forces," another co-sponsor of the resolution, Council Member Tony Avella, said. "And especially in this time of need, where we don't have enough to volunteer."