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2 December 2010
Last updated at 10:26 ET
A chief opponent of President Barack Obama's bid to allow gays to serve openly in the US military says the current repeal effort is "premature".
"I am not saying this law should never change," Republican Senator John McCain said, but that it should not be done now and in the way the president wants.
Sen McCain spoke at a Senate hearing on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
A Pentagon study released on Tuesday found allowing gay troops would carry only a low risk to fighting ability.
At the hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and top uniformed military officials urged Congress to repeal the 17-year-old ban on gay troops serving openly - and allow the Pentagon to repeal the ban on its own timetable, rather than that of federal judges.
They warned that federal courts had already found the ban unconstitutional and said a final ruling forcing the Defence Department to allow gays to serve openly would throw the military into disarray.
But Mr McCain - who lost the 2008 US presidential election to Mr Obama - cited portions in the just-released Pentagon study suggesting combat troops are uneasy about the prospect of serving alongside gay comrades, and portions that show a significant number said they would leave the service if the ban were repealed.
Mr Gates said: "Training will help mitigate these consequences".
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"I am not saying this law should never change," Republican Senator John McCain said, but that it should not be done now and in the way the president wants.
Sen McCain spoke at a Senate hearing on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
A Pentagon study released on Tuesday found allowing gay troops would carry only a low risk to fighting ability.
At the hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and top uniformed military officials urged Congress to repeal the 17-year-old ban on gay troops serving openly - and allow the Pentagon to repeal the ban on its own timetable, rather than that of federal judges.
They warned that federal courts had already found the ban unconstitutional and said a final ruling forcing the Defence Department to allow gays to serve openly would throw the military into disarray.
But Mr McCain - who lost the 2008 US presidential election to Mr Obama - cited portions in the just-released Pentagon study suggesting combat troops are uneasy about the prospect of serving alongside gay comrades, and portions that show a significant number said they would leave the service if the ban were repealed.
Mr Gates said: "Training will help mitigate these consequences".
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