Marine chief: DADT repeal is working - Tim Mak and Mackenzie Weinger on Astini News

Gen. James F. Amos, the top officer in the U.S. Marines, says he is "pleased" at how smoothly the military branch has adapted to the repeal of don't ask, don't tell - and top gay rights advocates agree.

Amos, who had publicly opposed the repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military, spent the past week in Afghanistan holding more than a dozen town-hall meetings with Marines, reports the AP, which had an exclusive interview with the Marine commander.

Continue Reading

Not once during the sessions was he asked about the repeal, according to the wire service.

"I'm very pleased with how it has gone," Amos said.

The general told a story to illustrate his point — during the Marine Corps' annual ball in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, a female Marine had approached his wife and introduced herself and her lesbian partner.

"Bonnie just looked at them and said, 'Happy birthday ball. This is great. Nice to meet you,'" Amos said, reports the AP. "That is happening throughout the Marine Corps."

Last December, Amos testified to Congress that he opposed the repeal of don't ask, don't tell, arguing that it would have disruptive effects on unit cohesion.

"I think I did exactly what I should have done," he says now, of his decision to testify against repeal.

Fred Sainz of the Human Rights Campaign, one of the advocacy groups that long called for the end of DADT, told POLITICO the general's comments back up what those who had been opposed to DADT said before the repeal.

"For Gen. Amos, who was perhaps one of the most hardened opponents at the time, to validate now that the implementation has gone well is obviously very heartening to see and he has truly embraced this in a way that should be an example to all Americans," Sainz said.

"We oftentimes in the gay rights movement have made the most progress when people that are kind of an unexpected ally or advocate come out, so to speak, and affirm that it is not the big deal they thought it would be," Sainz added. "This is one of those moments."

And Servicemembers Legal Defense Network spokesperson Zeke Stokes said his organization — formed in 1993 to offer legal assistance to those affected by the policy — has heard no reports of harassment, discrimination or negative experiences connected with the repeal from gay and lesbian servicemembers.

"We believe his comments very accurately reflect what is happening in the field," Stokes told POLITICO. "From our perspective, Gen. Amos's comments reflect exactly what we are hearing from all services, including the Marines, that repeal is going smoothly."

With the repeal implementation proceeding as planned, gay rights advocates are turning their attention to a more pressing concern: fighting for equal benefits for gay and lesbian servicemembers and their families, who do not qualify for the same benefits as their straight, married colleagues.

"I think that where the story is going to continue to evolve is in securing additional benefits for gay and lesbian servicemembers and their families," Sainz said.

After that hurdle, Sainz added, groups will likely push to end the ban on open transgendered service.

"Over time, certainly not immediately, you are going to see a push for open service by transgendered members of the military," he said.