'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal threatened

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WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- Democratic lawmakers are urging U.S. President Barack Obama to say he will veto any measure prohibiting military chaplains from performing same-sex weddings.

Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts and three other Democrats sent a letter to the president warning that the National Defense Authorization Act making its way through Congress contains House-passed amendments limiting same-sex ceremonies, The Christian Science Monitor reported Wednesday.

The letter said the amendments "would undermine the end to discrimination in the military."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates would like to green-light the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," the ban on openly gay troops serving in the U.S. military, before leaving office next month, the Monitor said.

Whether he can do so depends, among other things, on whether the Pentagon finishes training troops for the policy change.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said to date roughly half of U.S. troops have received the training.

The Pentagon has said it expects to be ready to certify the repeal by midsummer.