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Before vote, top US Marine opposes repeal of gay ban

by reuters | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Tuesday, 21 September 2010 17:15 GMT

* Vote on ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" expected Tuesday

* Obama campaigned on promised to end military ban on gays

By Phil Stewart and Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Marines told a Senate panel on Tuesday he opposed lifting the military's ban on openly serving homosexuals, just hours before a Senate vote toward repeal.

Obama's Democrats in Congress are moving to scrap the 1993 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy ahead of November congressional elections in which Republicans are expected to make big gains.

The Clinton-era policy allows homosexuals to serve in secret but expels them if their sexual orientation becomes known. Repealing the ban was one of Obama's promises in his 2008 presidential campaign.

But Marine General James Amos said ending the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and letting gays serve openly could distract Marines fighting in Afghanistan and disrupt unit cohesion throughout his more than 200,000-strong active-duty force.

"I'm concerned that a change now will serve as a distraction to Marines who are tightly focused at this point on combat operations in Afghanistan," Amos told the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a written response to questions.

"In my personal view, the current law and associated policy have supported the unique requirements of the Marine Corps, and thus I do not recommend its repeal."

A critical procedural vote is set for later Tuesday in the Senate on defense legislation that includes a measure authorizing the Obama administration and the military to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." If the vote fails to get 60 votes, progress on the bill would halt for now, although leaders could try again later.

Senator John McCain, who lost to Obama in the 2008 election, is among the most outspoken Republican critics of efforts to repeal the law. He asked Amos whether most Marines who participated in a recent Defense Department survey had voiced concerns about repeal.

"Sir, I've heard at the Marine bases and the Marine input for the online survey, it has been predominantly negative," Amos said.

Debate over repeal has moved well beyond the military and Congress and become a rallying for gay rights activists throughout the country. Singer Lady Gaga released a video last week urging members of the Senate and her "fellow Americans" to push for repeal.

The Marines have been the most outspoken critics of repeal. Outgoing Marine Corps Commandant General James Conway, who Amos would replace, said last month the overwhelming majority of Marines opposed sharing sleeping quarters with openly serving gays and lesbians.

Conway and Amos both said, however, they would obey the law integrating openly serving homosexuals into the military if "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" were repealed. (Editing by Bill Trott)

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