BBC News with David Legge

A report by the Pentagon has concluded that the ban on openly gay people serving in the American armed forces could be lifted without harming military readiness. The US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said that most soldiers surveyed supported this view. From Washington, Paul Adams.

Robert Gates said that a strong majority of service personnel favoured repealing the law. If implemented carefully, he said, the consequences should be minimal. The key to success would be training, education and strong leadership. Mr Gates urged Congress to repeal the 1993 law by the end of the year. The defence secretary did acknowledge that in certain all-male combat units, notably among special forces and the Marine Corps, there are serious reservations about repeal, but he said there was a real danger that the courts, which have already attempted to intervene, would try again to overturn the law. This, he said, would be the most hazardous way to do it.