New Jersey LGBT Law

WASHINGTON — While President Barack Obama this week is expected to clear the way for gays to serve openly in the military, the new law won't go into effect immediately and unanswered questions remain: How soon will the new policy be implemented, will it be accepted by the troops and could it hamper the military in Afghanistan and Iraq?

The historic action by Congress repeals the requirement, known as don't ask, don't tell, that for the last 17 years has allowed gays and lesbians to serve, but only if they kept quiet about their sexual orientation. Ending that policy has been compared in its social implications to President Harry S. Truman's 1948 executive order that brought racial equality to the military. After Obama signs the legislation – passed by the Senate on Saturday – into law, the Pentagon must still certify to Congress that the change won't damage combat readiness.

So, for the time being the restrictions will remain on the books, though it's unclear how fully they will be enforced. Some people believe gay discharge cases will be dropped as soon as Obama signs the law. Military leaders, who have been divided on the issue, gave indications that the policy change will be aggressively pursued.

A yearlong Pentagon study on the impact of repealing the 1993 ban said that issues of sexual conduct and fraternization can be dealt with by using existing military rules and regulations, and it found that two-thirds of service members surveyed didn't think changing the law would have much of an effect on military effectiveness. Of those who did predict negative consequences, most were in combat elements such as the infantry.