By Gary Barlow

Staff writer

The ban on openly gay and lesbian military personnel should be ended, 28 retired admirals and generals said in a letter to Congress Nov. 30.

“Scholarly data shows there are approximately one million gay and lesbian veterans in the United States today, as well as 65,000 gays and lesbians currently serving in our armed forces,” the letter stated. “They have served our nation honorably.”

The generals and admirals said they agree with the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. John Shalikashvili, that repealing the ban on gay and lesbian troops “would not harm and would indeed help our armed forces.”

The letter was released at a news conference in Washington by Servicemembers United and other groups. The conference was held in conjunction with “12,000 Flags for 12,000 Patriots,” organized by Servicemembers Executive Director Alexander Nicholson, a gay man who was kicked out of the Army because of the ban. Nicholson led others in laying 12,000 U.S. flags on the Washington Mall in recognition of the estimated 12,000 troops who’ve been discharged for being gay or lesbian since the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was instituted in 1993.

“We’re firing Arabic linguists, intelligence experts, medical specialists, all because of their sexual orientation, while we lower our standards for their replacements and fail to fill our ranks,” said Rhonda Davis, a Navy journalist who was discharged from the Navy under the policy in 2006. “The policy is outdated and senseless, and this event aims to encourage America to take another look.”

The event came just days after the military ban took center stage at a debate between Republican presidential contenders on CNN/YouTube. A retired former general who has come out as gay since leaving the California Military Reserves, Keith Kerr, asked the candidates “why you think that American men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians.”

All of the candidates responded that they support the ban.

“This policy ought to be continued because it’s working,” said Sen. John McCain.

CNN host Anderson Cooper pointedly asked former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney to respond, noting that as a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, Romney courted gay votes and said he looked forward to the day when gays and lesbians could “serve openly and honestly in our nation’s military.”

Romney, who’s now running for president as an anti-gay candidate, responded, “I look forward to hearing from the military exactly what they believe is the right way to have the right kind of cohesion and support in our troops, and I’ll listen to what they have to say.”

After the debate, some Republicans raised objections to Kerr being allowed to ask a question, noting that he has been a public supporter of Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the White House. But Kerr said he’s not on Clinton’s staff and denied that his question was tied to the Clinton campaign.