‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal picks up some GOP support

Repeal of the law barring gays from serving openly in the military picked up new Republican support Friday, increasing its chances of overcoming a filibuster but still leaving it vulnerable to a legislation logjam in the lame-duck Senate.

Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown said he would support repeal — as long as the bill came to the floor after measures on tax cuts and the federal budget. GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and John Ensign of Nevada also have indicated they could support the change, putting the Democrats close to the needed 60-vote supermajority if they can hold their own ranks.

But Senate GOP leaders have vowed to block any legislation until a dispute over extending the George W. Bush-era tax cuts is settled. A group of lawmakers and administration officials have been negotiating on the issue, but they remain deadlocked.

After the release this week of a Pentagon report on repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” and two days of Senate hearings, Brown said he would support repeal because he was satisfied that it would only be implemented when “the battle-effectiveness of the forces is assured.”

Under legislation being considered by the Senate, repeal would not take effect until President Obama, the secretary of Defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certified that it would not harm military readiness.

The Pentagon report, which foresaw no long-term problems with allowing gays to serve openly, offered political cover to moderate Republicans like Brown, who faces a 2012 reelection campaign in a normally Democratic-leaning state.

But those who support repeal still must overcome pressure from the Republican leadership to prevent any bills from coming to the floor before renewal of the tax cuts, which expire at the end of the year. Republicans want to extend them across the board; Democrats want to do so only on income up to $250,000 a year for families and $200,000 a year for individuals.

Extending the cuts on income over those limits would cost the federal treasury an estimated $700 billion over 10 years.

Three of the four U.S. armed services chiefs told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Friday that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly while the nation is at war could disrupt combat operations. But all four chiefs said they supported an eventual repeal.

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Michael G. Mullen, testified that they support repeal.

Lawmakers are under pressure to change the 17-year-old law after a Riverside federal judge ruled that “don’t ask, don’t tell” was discriminatory. She ordered an immediate and permanent halt, but the order is on hold during appeal.

Under the 1993 law, the Pentagon is required to remove service members found to be gay or acknowledging they are. More than 14,000 service members have been discharged under the policy.

Timing most concerned the commanders who testified Friday. The commandant of the Marine Corps said changing the policy now, while more than 50% of Marine combat forces are heavily engaged in Afghanistan, posed a “strong potential for disruption.”

“My recommendation is we should not implement repeal at this time,” Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos said. “I ask for the opportunity to do it when my forces are not singularly focused on combat.”

The head of the Air Force, whose pilots engage in round-the-clock combat missions over Afghanistan, recommended that repeal not take effect at least until 2012.

Air Force Gen. Norton A. Schwartz said he believed that openly gay service members could be integrated into the Air Force over time, but described the Pentagon’s report as “too optimistic.”

All of the military leaders agreed they would prefer that Congress rather than the courts change the policy. That would give the secretary of Defense more discretion.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) expressed concern that lawmakers have too little time to consider the repeal, bristling at what he described as an effort to “rush this through a lame duck” Congress. When the initial “don’t ask, don’t tell” law passed in 1993, McCain said, the Senate held 13 hearings on it.

The Army is already stretched thin by a decade at war, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said. “I would not recommend going forward at this time given all that the Army has on its plate.”

But, he said, “I believe the law should be repealed eventually.” Casey added that the Army could maintain good order and discipline with gays and lesbians serving openly.

The chief of naval operations, Adm. Gary Roughead, recommended the law’s repeal, but said the Navy might see a reduction in reenlistment by some highly trained combat sailors, including Navy SEALs. But he foresaw no long-term effect if the Navy followed the steps recommended by the Defense Department report.

Sailors routinely train and work in close quarters alongside service members of allied navies that allow gays to serve openly, Roughead said.

brian.bennett@latimes.com