WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Greater acceptance of gays and lesbians is blunting opposition to President Barack Obama's efforts to reform U.S. military policy, analysts say.
Surprisingly little pushback from either the top brass or the rank-and-file has emerged against Obama's moves to scrap the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays and lesbians and allow them to serve openly, experts told Sunday's New York Daily News.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told the newspaper that opposition among the service chiefs has been muted.
"They've got their own opinions on this matter, yeah," he said. "But there is no doubt among any of them what the president's marching orders are on this subject."
The Military Times quoted Army Capt. Steven Lacy as saying that letting gays serve openly "could exacerbate stress on teams and small units when you're already at a high stress level," but Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Pfau told the publication that a change "does not bother me whatsoever. As long as they do their job, it does not bother me."
