President Barack Obama has signed a law ordering the US armed services to allow gay men and women to serve openly. At the signing ceremony in Washington, Obama said valour and sacrifice in the armed forces are no longer defined by sexual orientation. He believes the bill will strengthen national security. "No longer will tens of thousands of Americans in uniform be asked to live a lie, or look over their shoulder in order to serve the country they love," he said. The Pentagon will now have to put together a plan for implementing the altered rules, deciding how troops will be educated about the new policy. Decisions will also have to be made about disciplinary procedures and the status of those who were fired for violating the policy in the past. Since 1993, when the Pentagon introduced the policy allowing gay men and lesbians to join the armed forces if they did not reveal their sexuality, at least 13,000 people have been thrown out of the military for breaking the rules.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 23rd December 2010 - 10:29am