Gays military

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Obama administration asked a federal appeals court late Thursday to suspend its decision last week ordering an end to enforcement of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which bars gay people from serving openly in the armed forces.

The Justice Department argued that the government wants to stick with the timetable set in last year's congressional action to repeal "don't ask, don't tell." It provides a grace period for retraining to integrate gays, and a 60-day evaluation to certify that the change won't hurt military readiness.

LOS ANGELES -- A federal law banning openly gay people from serving in the military should no longer be enforced, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, citing the Obama administration's call for an end to "a history of discrimination" against homosexuals.

The "don't ask, don't tell" policy signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993 was ruled unconstitutional in September by U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips in Riverside. A month later, Phillips issued a "worldwide injunction" against further discharges of gay soldiers and sailors, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in November suspended her order while the case was being appealed.

Congress, in the meantime, repealed "don't ask, don't tell" but left the policy in force until the president, the defense secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that enough training and preparation for integrating gays has been accomplished to avoid any damage to military readiness.

WASHINGTON -- Women should finally be allowed to serve fully in combat, a military advisory panel said Friday in a report seeking to dismantle the last major area of discrimination in the armed forces.

The call by a commission of current and retired military officers to let women be front-line fighters could set in motion another sea change in military culture as the armed forces, generations after racial barriers fell, grapples with the phasing out of the ban on gays serving openly.

WASHINGTON -- Declaring that members of the military will no longer be asked to lie, President Barack Obama fulfilled a campaign promise Wednesday and signed a landmark law repealing the ban on gay men and women serving openly in the armed services.

"This is a good day," a beaming Obama said. "This is a very good day."

WASHINGTON -- The House voted Wednesday to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that for 17 years has forced gays desiring to serve in the military to conceal their sexual identity.

The 250-175 vote propels the issue to the Senate for what could be the last chance for now to end the 1993 law that forbids recruiters from asking about sexual orientation while prohibiting soldiers from acknowledging that they are gay.

WASHINGTON -- Despite Democratic efforts, Republicans on Thursday prevented a vote on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, putting the repeal of a ban on gays serving openly in the military in doubt.

Senate Democrats had been working to reach an agreement with Republicans to allow time to debate the broader defense authorization bill that would include the repeal of the ban. Republicans have vowed to block any votes until after resolving the unrelated issue of expiring tax cuts.