Poll: 55% of
Americans support gays serving openly in military

A new poll shows that for the first time a majority of Americans support allowing gays to serve openly in the U.S. military. The Harris Interactive survey reveals that 55% of those polled say openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the military, and 57% agreed with former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman John Shalikashvili's assertion last month that openly gay people will "not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces," The Wall Street Journal reports. Only 19% of those polled said that gays could serve if they kept their sexual orientation secret, and 18% said they shouldn't be allowed to serve at all. In 2000, 48% said that gays should be allowed to serve openly. On the specific question of "don't ask, don't tell," the military's official ban on openly gay service members, 46% of respondents said they oppose the policy, the same as in 2000. The survey of 2,337 Americans was conducted January 11-18. (The Advocate)