U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-Detroit) is making some waves in Washington circles with his public announcement he supports a repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which prohibits openly gay people from serving in the U.S. military.
Levin, who is the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, made the statement to Cybercast News Service (CNS News), a conservative online news outlet founded by Brent Bozell.
In an interview with CNS on Friday which was published on Monday, Levin said he has always supported allowing gays to serve:
“That’s been my position consistently,” Levin said, when asked whether he would support repealing the ban. “Whether and how we get to that is an open issue.”
Levin would not say whether he will introduce legislation to overturn the ban. But he did say he would be “exploring,” along with his Senate colleagues, whether to try and overturn the ban during the current legislative year.
“I’m going to be working with colleagues to see what kind of support there is for it and where along the process we can take that issue,” Levin explained.
The ban was passed by into law in 1993 when then-President Bill Clinton attempted to lift the military’s complete ban on homosexuals. The current policy prohibits openly gay military members from serving, but is broadly written to include any person who has solicited homosexual activity, or states he or she is homosexual or bisexual.
President Barack Obama has said he supports repealing the policy.