US military welcomes end of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law on Pentagon’s orders

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military has welcomed the Pentagon’s decision to end the controversy over the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which it says will allow recruiters more freedom when it comes to selection of gay recruits.

“Recruiters have been given guidance, and they will process applications for applicants who admit they are openly gay or lesbian,” the New York Daily News quoted a spokeswoman Pentagon, as saying while announcing the new rules.

The policy, however, has reportedly come with a number of cautions and caveats for young gays considering a military career depending on the outcomes of a government lawsuit against DADT and the stalled Congressional effort to repeal the law.

Meanwhile, gay rights groups have warned recruits that the rules might change again, and cautioned against open declarations of sexual orientation, but some activist groups are planning to send members to recruiting stations to test the Pentagon’s new policy.

“The bottom line: if you come out now, it can be used against you in the future by the Pentagon,” Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network said.

Senetor Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, called the new policy on gay recruits “a welcome step but it should be permanent. I still believe Congress must step up to the plate and repeal this corrosive (DADT) policy.”ast week, Judge Virginia A. Phillips of Federal District Court for the Central District of California issued an injunction banning enforcement of the law and ordered the military to immediately “suspend and discontinue” any investigations or proceedings to dismiss service members.

In 1981, the tradition was codified as the military banned service by gays, and that policy was modified in 1993 by DADT. (ANI)