
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 20, 1993                   TAG: 9307200255
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

CLINTON'S GAY POLICY: `DON'T ASK'

Flanked by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, President Clinton on Monday presented his plan for easing the ban on homosexuals in the military and appealed to his generals and admirals to find in their hearts "the will and the desire" to carry it out.

Immediately after the president laid out his policy in a speech at the National Defense University at Fort McNair, Va., the top commanders of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard, as well as Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the joint chiefs, met with reporters.

The chiefs, who six months ago were in a nearly open revolt over Clinton's plan to lift the ban on homosexuals unconditionally, took turns expressing their support for the new policy.

Clinton's plan will permit homosexuals to serve in the military if they do not engage in homosexual behavior on- or off-base and remain quiet about their sexual identity. But it also makes it difficult for commanders to initiate investigations without clear evidence of homosexual behavior, thereby implicitly creating a zone of privacy for gay soldiers and sailors.

Calling this "an honorable compromise" after "difficult" debates, Powell said the military chiefs "fully, fully support" it.

Clinton acknowledged that the compromise formula "is not a perfect solution" or "identical with some of my own goals." During the presidential campaign, he called for lifting the ban on homosexuals unconditionally.

"It certainly will not please everyone - perhaps not anyone - and clearly not those who hold the most adamant opinions on either side of this issue," he added.

Declaring that his plan was a "a substantial advance" over the half-century ban on homosexuals that he inherited, Clinton said it struck a "sensible balance between the rights of the individual and the needs of the military."

His choice of a military audience to announce his plan demonstrated the balance of power that in the end shaped the new policy.

The policy takes effect Oct. 1. It has been characterized by the administration as: "Don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue."

by CNB