Gay US soldiers must still hold fire on sexuality

US lawmakers have voted to allow gays to serve openly in the military for the first time, but troops must wait months before they can reveal their sexual orientation without facing dismissal.

Amid concerns over unit cohesion at a time when the United States is still heavily embroiled militarily in Afghanistan and Iraq, senior officials want a deliberate process to ensure the smoothest possible transition, AFP via Google News reports.

Several Republicans joined Democrats to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a 1993 law enacted under Bill Clinton’s administration as a compromise from an outright ban on gays and lesbians serving in the US military.

Saturday’s vote, which capped two weeks of bitterly divisive debate, marked for some the biggest shift in the US military since racial integration began in 1948. President Barack Obama, who vowed during his 2008 White House bid to lift the ban, hailed the “historic step”, AFP via Google News writes.

“It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed,” he added.