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Nunn: Time to revisit military policy on gays

The former Senate Armed Services Committee chairman who forced President Clinton to back down in 1993 from plans to allow homosexuals to openly serve in the military said Tuesday that it could be time to revisit the issue.

Sam Nunn, the former Democratic senator from Georgia who left politics in 1996, said Tuesday that after 15 years on the books, the “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue” policy he helped to enact could stand to be reviewed.

“It is appropriate to take another look at it, see how it is working, ask the hard question, hear from the military,” Nunn said at a national service seminar held in Atlanta.

Nunn is co-chairman and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonprofit group that works to reduce the threat of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, an issue he was heavily involved in during his 24 years in the Senate.

He has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., but Nunn said he does not expect to re-enter political life.

Obama, who has called the current policy on homosexuals in the military “counterproductive,” has said he would work with Congress and the Pentagon to repeal restrictions and to offer people who have been discharged for homosexuality a chance to rejoin the ranks.

Nunn’s comments came just days after the death of retired Northwestern University sociology professor Charles Moskos, who helped craft the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and aided Nunn in garnering support from lawmakers, military leaders and the Clinton White House for a messy compromise that allows gays to serve in the military — a goal of President Clinton — but does not allow them to serve openly, which military leaders argued is necessary to maintain good order and discipline.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which covered Nunn’s remarks Tuesday, quoted Nunn as saying a review of the policy could begin with a Pentagon study about whether attitudes of military members about service by homosexuals has changed.

“I’m not advocating anything, except I’m saying the policy was the right policy for the right time, and times change. It’s appropriate to take another look,” Nunn said, according to the newspaper.

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a nonprofit gay-rights group, said Nunn is coming late to the conclusion that the law needs a fresh look.

“A hundred and forty-three House members are ahead of him,” said Aubrey Sarvis, the group’s executive director, referring to the co-sponsors of a bill, HR 1246, which would allow homosexuals to serve in the military without restrictions.

One of that measure’s sponsors is Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Armed Services personnel panel, which oversees military personnel policy. Davis may have a hearing on the bill later this year, but she has not attempted to force a vote on the issue.

Moskos, who died May 31, had a long association with Nunn on national service issues before the 1993 debate over gays in uniform.

Moskos never intended for the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which allows gays and lesbians to serve as long as they do not tell anyone about their sexual orientation and are not found to engage in gay sex, to become permanent. He pitched the idea to military leaders and lawmakers as a temporary compromise after Clinton announced he wanted to lift the ban on open military service by homosexuals.

In a statement issued after Moskos’ death, Nunn called him “a valuable adviser to the Senate Armed Services Committee” and said he will always be grateful for Moskos’ “guidance and wisdom.”

“He was a tremendous resource to me over the years on issues ranging from military personnel issues to national service,” Nunn said.

“Charlie Moskos was the pre-eminent military sociologist of his era. His detailed understanding and sound judgments about our military personnel, and particularly the all-volunteer force, helped both the Pentagon and members of Congress make better, more-informed decisions. The all-volunteer force and the U.S. Army, specifically, are much stronger because of Charlie’s involvement,” Nunn said.