President to Announce Formal End to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

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The Washington Post reported that President Obama will announce today that the Pentagon is ready to permit gay and lesbian individuals to serve openly in the military, formally ending the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The White House confirmed to Psychiatric News this morning that "the President will meet with the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to review the certification of the repeal of 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.' "

APA has long had a position statement opposing the exclusion or dismissal from the Armed Forces of any individual on the basis of sexual orientation. It has also condemned all forms of bias directed at gay and lesbian individuals and adopted a position statement calling for laws to allow same-sex civil marriage. You can read more about issues surrounding "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

in Psychiatric News at http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/46/1/12.1.full.