By Leo Shane III and Megan McCloskey
WASHINGTON — While gay rights advocates are celebrating this week’s votes in Congress to overturn the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law, they’re also warning closeted servicemembers not to reveal anything just yet.
Proposals passed in the Senate Armed Services Committee and House on Thursday would mandate a repeal of the 1993 law banning openly gay troops from serving, but only after a lengthy review process. The earliest a full repeal could go into effect would be late January 2011.
That prompted the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network to issue a warning to any homosexuals serving silently that “it is not safe to come out or serve openly” until the repeal is finalized.
“At a minimum, we’re worried this is going to create confusion for these people,” said spokesman Trevor Thomas. “There’s nothing in these votes that stops the law from being enforced at this time”.
In a statement Friday on the Pentagon Channel, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he doesn’t expect a clear timetable on a repeal to develop until the end of this year.
“While this policy plays out over time, nothing will change in our current policies and practices,” he said. “Current law, policies and regulations remain in place, and we’re obligated to follow them as before”.
A gay specialist currently in Iraq on his second deployment, who asked that his name be withheld for fear of reprisal, said the repeal vote was exciting news but still does not know what it means for his continued service. The soldier has been under investigation since April after another servicemember outed him to his command. He was informed of the inquiry a day after Gates announced the military would not pursue new cases in which a servicemember was outed by another person.
“I was told they would gather the documents necessary and stick them in a folder in a desk, for now,” the specialist said.
