Gates Skeptical of ‘Don’t Ask , Don’t Tell’ Repeal This Year

[IRemember]

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/07/world/07military.html?ref=global-home

MUSCAT, Oman — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Monday cast doubt about a Senate vote this year to allow gay men and women to serve openly in the armed forces.

In comments aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, Mr. Gates said he was unsure if the Senate would vote this year to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the 17-year-old law that requires gay men and women in the military to keep their sexual orientation secret or face discharge.

“I’d have to say I’m not particularly optimistic that they’re going to get this done, I would hope that they would,” he told sailors aboard the Lincoln.

Mr. Gates reiterated his concern that if Congress does not act on the legislation, the courts might overturn the policy on their own. His greatest fear, he said, is that “we will be told to implement it without any time for preparation for training, any of the other efforts that need to be undertaken to prepare us for such a change.”

He said changing the law legislatively gives the Pentagon “enormous latitude” to prepare for such a change.

Read more: NYT