A COMMITTEE IN the US House of Representatives has approved an amendment to a defence bill which will delay President Barack Obama’s proposed policy of allowing gays to serve openly in the military.

The legislation to repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ was signed by President Obama in December 2010, but ABC reports that the policy is still in effect until 60 days after the president and the and Pentagon certify the change.

Even though Americans increasingly support the repeal of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, with polls finding that three-quarters say opening gay men and women should be allowed to serve in the military, Republican Duncan Hunter Jr proposed an amendment to the defence bill, which will require all four military service chiefs to certify that the change wont hurt troops’ ability to fight.

Hunter says that he wants input from the military chiefs because those who are currently authorised to sign off on the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’, including Obama, don’t have enough combat experience.

Hunter’s amendment was approved even though the four chiefs in question have already testified that allowing openly gay troops to serve in the military would have little impact on operations.

Another amendment prohibits the use of military facilities for same-sex marriage ceremonies and bars military chaplains from conducting such ceremonies, which a further amendment was approved which defines a marriage as a union between a man and a woman for the purpose of military benefits, regulations and policy.The Navy had previously agreed that facilities and chaplains could be used for same-sex ceremonies if the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy was repealed, but conservatives were upset with the decision, saying that it violated the law.

The Associated Press indicates that the provisions added to the bill are unlikely to be passed in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but that they elicited a fierce and lengthy debate yesterday.

Training sessions to familiarise troops with the military’s new position on gay, lesbian and bisexual service members has already begun.

- Additional reporting by AP