Clinton May Lift Military Gay Ban by Executive Order, Aide Says

President-elect Bill Clinton’s top spokesman said Wednesday that he expects Clinton to end the ban on homosexuals in the military by issuing an executive order, an action sought by gay-rights advocates who objected to proposals that a less forceful mechanism be used.

Asked at Clinton’s daily briefing how the President-elect intends to end the long-standing ban, communications director George Stephanopoulos said: “I expect it will be eventually by executive order. But the final decisions have not yet been reached.

“President-elect Clinton said through the campaign that we wanted to make sure that we had the military open to gay soldiers and service people, and we expect to continue that,” he said.

The statement suggests that the Clinton team is leaning away from a proposal by some advisers to have the ban lifted by writing a memo delegating the task to the secretary of defense--a method the advisers hoped would make it more palatable to military officers, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin L. Powell.

Since the idea was floated last week by John D. Holum, a Washington lawyer and Clinton adviser, it has sparked outraged reaction from homosexual-rights advocates. Presidents historically have used executive orders for forceful and highly symbolic acts. Former President Harry S. Truman, for instance, used an executive order to racially integrate the military.

Several gay-rights advocates said Wednesday that they interpreted Stephanopoulos’ words to mean the idea of writing a memo to the defense secretary might now be in decline.

“I think it’s very encouraging,” Thomas B. Stoddard, a Manhattan lawyer and gay-rights advocate, said of Stephanopoulos’ words. “He used the term executive order, and he in essence reaffirmed the President-elect’s commitment.”

Gay rights advocates contend that the ban must be lifted through an executive order to give the change the visibility needed to reverse the military’s tradition and practice.

“There’s a difference between a memo and an order from the commander in chief,” said David Mixner, a Clinton adviser and campaign fund-raiser. “It’s important that the military see that this has the full force of the President behind it.”

The idea of a memo signed by Secretary of Defense-designate Les Aspin was raised Jan. 5 at a meeting between Holum and representatives of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Human Rights Campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Psychological Assn. and Rep. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.), a gay lawmaker.

Holum and other aides have been searching for a way for Clinton to deliver on his 15-month-old campaign promise, yet not start his term in conflict with Pentagon brass.