Gays In Military

WASHINGTON -- In an angry challenge to the administration's promise to lift the ban on homosexuals in the armed forces, the Joint Chiefs of Staff are fighting to persuade President Clinton to reverse his campaign pledge, senior military officials said yesterday.Defense Secretary Les Aspin's first meeting on Thursday with the Joint Chiefs was dominated by an emotional, two-hour discussion of their concerns that repealing the ban would wreck morale, undermine recruiting, force devoutly religious service members to resign and increase the risk of AIDS for heterosexual troops, senior officers said.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton has come up with a way to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military that would fulfill a campaign pledge while giving the administration time to work out the details with senior military leaders.Homosexual rights groups applaud the plan. Two homosexual lawmakers, Rep. Gerry E. Studds and Rep. Barney Frank, both Democrats of Massachusetts, were consulted this week, and approved. Military officials say they are pleased that they still will get to have some say on how the change would occur.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton plans to direct Defense Secretary Les Aspin to prepare an executive order that would lift the ban on homosexuals in the military sometime in the next few months, Clinton aides said yesterday.In the meantime, the military will be directed less formally to stop asking recruits about their sexual orientation and discharging people from the armed services when they are found to be homosexuals. These are the two points that would be the main practical effects once an executive order is in place.