By ROBERT BURNS and LOLITA C. BALDOR
WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he sees no roadblocks to repeal of the ban on gay military members serving openly.
He says if the military chiefs make their recommendation to move forward on the repeal before the end of the month, he will sign it, which would make it effective as early as September.
He says the training has gone well and people have been “pleasantly surprised” at the lack of pushback from the troops.
More than a million U.S. troops have been trained on the new law that repealed the 17-year-old ban on gays serving openly in the armed services. Gates says the most common questions deal with housing, and commanders are developing ways to deal with that.
Gates spoke during an interview with The Associated Press.
