Pelosi wants halt to discharge of gay and lesbian military members

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged President Barack Obama late Friday to immediately halt discharges of gay and lesbian members of the military.

Responding to reports that Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates had sent a key lawmaker a letter urging a slower implementation of the repeal of the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, Pelosi said dismissals must end.

"We all look forward to the report on the review of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy by the Defense Department," Pelosi said Friday evening in a statement. "In the meantime, the Administration should immediately place a moratorium on dismissals under this policy until the review has been completed and Congress has acted.”

Mullen and Gates wrote Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, the Associated Press reported Friday, to urge a more careful repeal of the policy which has stood since 1993, which discharges openly gay members of the military.

Mullen and Gates have both publicly expressed support for doing away with the policy, though lawmakers have been less willing to outline how a repeal might be accomplished. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has spearheaded legislation in the Senate to address repealing the policy.

“Our military must be afforded the opportunity to inform us of their concerns, insights and suggestions if we are to carry out this change successfully,” the pair wrote Skelton.