According to a study performed by the RAND Corporation, the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is losing support within the military itself:

The study found that just 40 percent of the military members surveyed expressed support for the policy, while 28 percent opposed it and 33 percent were neutral—less support than seen in previous surveys.

About 20 percent of those polled said they were aware of a gay or lesbian member in their unit, and about half of those said their presence was well known. In addition, three-quarters of those surveyed said they felt comfortable or very comfortable in the presence of gays or lesbians, according to the study.

While most arguments in support of DADT say that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would affect unit cohesion, the study found that the factors most likely to affect that were “officer quality, training quality and equipment quality.”

After meeting with Department of Defense officials, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) yesterday said hearings on a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” may take place in November, according to The Hill, which quoted the Senator’s Twitter post on the matter.

Elsewhere on the DADT front, the movement’s poster soldier, Lt. Daniel Choi, discussed his involvement in the DADT repeal and the National Equality March in an interview with Washington D.C.’s Metro Weekly:

CHOI: I’ve talked about values and made that my foundation, and if it wasn’t for those values I don’t think I would have had as much energy to do all these things. But when I talk about integrity or refusing to hide or refusing to lie, they’re obviously meant as a simple message to all these people, that this is what we stand for.

It appears the White House is finally moving on a legislative repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  The Advocate reports on a tip from out official John Berry that the administration is working closely with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) to develop a legislative strategy that would repeal the law banning openly LGBT servicemembers in the U.S. military.

A spokesman for Senator Lieberman confirmed that the senator had been speaking to the White House about the bill. “Senator Lieberman has had discussions with representatives of the Administration and others on the best way to reverse this policy, which he has opposed since it was first proposed in 1993,” said Marshall Wittmann, Lieberman’s press secretary. Wittmann gave no further information on the senator’s plans regarding the legislation.

At the moment, the sticking point appears to be finding the proper Senator to sponsor and introduce the legislation.  Jake Reed of Rhode Island, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Mark Udall of Colorado are all potential lead sponsors of a Senate companion bill to match Rep. Patrick Murphy’s (D-Penn.) house bill introduced in March.

It’s been nearly ten months since Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs gave his famous one-word answer–”yes”–to whether Obama would repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  Now, Administration officials are saying the repeal may not come as soon as some had hoped.  Obama’s national security advisor Jim Jones said this weekend repeal will have to wait for “the right time,” the Associated Press reports.

“I don’t think it’s going to be — it’s not years, but I think it will be teed up appropriately,” James Jones said.

The Democratic-led Congress is considering repealing the 1993 law, but action isn’t expected on the issue until early next year.

The New York Times continued the debate with an editorial Saturday in support of overturning the law, citing a new report in a military journal that supports repeal of the policy:

Colonel Prakash argues that the law has undermined unit cohesion, in part by compromising the integrity of homosexuals who have to dissemble and by posing a moral quandary for commanders — look the other way or risk discharging a valuable service member. He judged the policy a “costly failure” because of the lost manpower and the administrative costs of recruiting and separating homosexuals. He urged the Obama administration to examine how to repeal the ban.

A letter Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wrote to President Obama urging action on the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has apparently leaked to outside sources.  In the letter, Reid encourages Obama to express his views on the policy and become a leader in fighting to overturn the law that requires it.

As Congress considers future legislative action, we believe it would be helpful to hear your views on the policy.  I would therefore request that you bring to Congress your recommendations on DADT.  …  Your leadership on this matter is greatly appreciated and needed at this time.

The entire letter in PDF format can be read at Politico.