Gore: Let Gays Serve
VP Joins Chorus Against 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy

By Sandra Sobieraj
The Associated Press

W A S H I N G T O N, Dec. 13 - On the campaign question of gays in the military, Bill Bradley went first. Then Hillary Rodham Clinton. Then even President Clinton said his "don't ask, don't tell policy" wasn't working. Now add Vice President Al Gore to the list of dissenters.

�� In a statement released by his presidential campaign, Gore suggested his mind was made up by the fatal bludgeoning of Pfc. Barry Winchell in his Fort Campbell, Ky., Army barracks on July 5. Another Army private was sentenced last Friday to life in prison for the murder. Prosecutors said Winchell was targeted because he was rumored to be gay.

�� "In light of the Winchell case and other evidence, I believe the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy should be eliminated," Gore said today. "Gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve their country without discrimination."

�� He continued, "If I am entrusted with the presidency, I will make those changes and propose legislation in Congress to eliminate this unacceptable form of discrimination."

Bradley, Hillary Denounce Policy

Interviewed in June, before Winchell's murder, Gore told The Advocate magazine only, "I would implement the policy with more compassion."

�� A Gore aide suggested the vice president was then being loyal to Clinton administration policy. The aide pointed journalists to news articles dating back to 1994, in which Gore was reported to be pushing Clinton behind the scenes for an outright end to the ban on gays in the military.

�� Bradley, Gore's rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, scored points with the gay community in September when he spoke out forcefully for elimination of "don't ask, don't tell."

�� Last week, Mrs. Clinton, who is running for the Senate from New York, also called for an end to the policy. Her husband said over the weekend that it had not been implemented as was intended, and that it was never supposed to facilitate rooting out people who are gay or allow for harassment.