US Congress backs lifting military gay ban

The US Senate yesterday backed President Barack Obama’s drive to let gays serve openly in the military for the first time in history, clearing a last major legislative obstacle.

Lawmakers voted 63-33 to end debate on a bill to repeal the ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ compromise of 1993 that requires gay troops to keep quiet about their sexual orientation or face dismissal, setting up final passage this weekend.

The final vote, expected yesterday or today, was essentially a formality after six Republicans sided with all but one of Obama’s Democratic allies in the make-or-break procedural test.

“The first casualty in the war in Iraq was a gay soldier. The mine that took off his right leg didn’t give a darn whether he was gay or straight. We shouldn’t either,” Democratic Senator Carl Levin said before the ballot.

“We cannot let these patriots down. Their suffering should end. It will end with the passage of this bill. I urge its passage today,” said Levin, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“It isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” countered Senator John McCain, the top Republican on Levin’s panel and Obama’s defeated 2008 White House rival.

“To somehow allege that it has harmed our military is not justified by the facts,” McCain said.

The final vote would send the measure to Obama to sign into law, fulfilling his 2008 campaign promise and ushering in perhaps the biggest sea change in the US military since racial integration began in 1948.

Those who want to scrap the policy had feared they would lose their best chance in years when a new US Congress musters in January with Republicans – who largely oppose repeal – in charge of the House.

Passage would trigger a time-consuming process that envisions lifting the ban only after the president, the secretary of defence, and the top US uniformed officer certify that doing so can be done without harming military readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion, recruiting andretention.

Republicans have scoffed that the leaders involved have already stated their support to ending the policy.

“They have already made up their minds,” said Republican Senator James Inhofe.

The US military “will do what is asked of them, but don’t think that it won’t be at great cost,” said McCain.

The Pentagon issued a study this month that found a solid majority of troops were not bothered by the prospect of lifting the ban and that the military could implement the change without a major disruption or upheaval.

The repeal effort enjoys broad support from the US public, as well as from Defence Secretary Robert Gates and US Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen.