Defense Secretary Robert Gates will talk to lawmakers next week about a proposed repeal of a ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military, broaching a sensitive issue that has divided troops in the past.

Gates and top military officer Adm. Mike Mullen "are and frankly have been working on an implementation plan" to carry out President Obama's goal of scrapping the ban, press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters on Thursday.

"And they will have more to say about ... their proposed way forward with 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' early next week," Morrell said.

The law introduced in 1993 requires gays to keep quiet about their sexual orientation or face expulsion from the military.

Taking on a politically charged issue, Obama renewed his vow to end the ban in his State of the Union address on Wednesday, saying he would work "this year" with Congress to change the law.

As a candidate, Obama promised to end the policy, but activists have criticized him for moving cautiously on the issue since taking office.

A defense official said Gates and Mullen would describe "a plan on how to proceed with the president's vision."

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said "the secretary has been intimately involved in conversations with the president leading up to the State of the Union on this issue and is still working on it."
Gates has said previously any change in policy needed to be handled "very, very carefully" as the military was under strain from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The defense secretary was expected to describe possible steps that would need to be taken to prepare the way before the law was changed, the official said.

Another defense official said military leaders were still at a preliminary stage and were not ready to publicly lay out a firm plan for implementing a repeal.

In June, Gates said he asked Pentagon lawyers to consider possible ways to interpret the rule in a more flexible, "humane" manner as an interim step until the law is changed.

Gates would address that option as well at a hearing on Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Mullen and the joint chiefs of staff "understand perfectly the president's intent to see the law repealed," said Mullen's spokesman, Capt. John Kirby.

"They also take seriously their obligation to provide the president with the best advice about the impact of the repeal of the law and how best the change in policy can be implemented across the force," he told AFP.

Mullen was "prepared to speak to legislators about how that best advice can be developed," he said.
In his speech Wednesday, Obama devoted one sentence to the issue and set no deadline for securing a change to the law.

"This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are," the president said.

About 13,000 U.S. service members have been discharged under the policy since it was adopted in 1993. The ban through 2003 has resulted in an estimated $95.4 million in recruiting costs and $95.1 million in training replacements, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Polls show most Americans support allowing openly gay men and lesbians to serve in the U.S. military.
Opponents of changing the rule have warned it could threaten "unit cohesion" in the all-volunteer force and damage morale among troops in a military under strain from years of war.

Former president Bill Clinton agreed to the compromise rule after meeting stiff resistance from commanders and some lawmakers when he proposed allowing gays to serve openly in uniform.

White House officials are anxious to avoid Clinton's experience, when he ended up bogged down in a damaging battle over the issue, sapping his influence early in his first term.

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin, a Democrat who supports ending the ban, said he believes opinion in and outside the military has progressed since 1993.

"I think there's a generational shift that's taken place," said Levin, who stressed the importance of hearing the views of military officers and enlisted personnel before making moves to end the policy.