Lieberman to push 'Don't Ask' bill

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, Ind-Conn., said Monday he will introduce legislation to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy on gays in the military.

Lieberman told the New York Daily News repeal of the 1993 law prohibiting gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military is "the next step of the civil rights movement."

An estimated 14,000 men and women have been kicked out of the U.S. military under the policy -- including many who served as translators in strategically important languages such as Arabic and Persian, the newspaper said.

Lieberman, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the Daily News allowing gays to serve openly is in keeping with the promise of America to provide citizens with "an equal opportunity to do whatever job their talents and sense of purpose and motivations lead them to want to do -- including military service." He said repealing the ban will strengthen the U.S. military.

"When you artificially limit the pool of people who can enlist then you are diminishing military effectiveness," Lieberman said.