Admiral Mike Mullen, the military’s top uniformed officer, told the Senate Armed Services Committee today that “allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do.”
In the hearing, the committee questioned Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates on President Obama’s intended repeal of the military’s long-debated ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy.
Mullen said that the Joint Chiefs of Staff “have reviewed the fundamental premises behind ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and “understand perfectly the president’s desire to see the law repealed.”
He also said it was his “personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do.”
“No matter how I look at this issue,” Mullen said, “I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.”
Late Update: Mullen just tweeted: “Stand by what I said: Allowing homosexuals to serve openly is the right thing to do. Comes down to integrity.”
