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by Jay Shaff (profile)

Washington, DC — In his first State of the Union address, President Barack Obama again promised to address the discriminatory Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) policy which has haunted LGBT military members for years.

"This year," Obama said, "I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are."

No time frame was offered as to whether this process would begin or be concluded in 2010.

Congress approved DADT, the ban which prohibits gay and lesbian service members from revealing their sexuality at the risk of losing their jobs, in 1993 under President Bill Clinton. 

"I applaud President Obama for making it crystal clear that the United States military cannot continue the discriminatory policy of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'," Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL) told ChicagoPride.com. "To prohibit some of our bravest men and women from serving the country they love simply because of who they love is unacceptable. It is not only morally repugnant, but it undermines our national security and makes us less safe at a critical juncture."

"On behalf of the estimated 13,000 men and women who have left the military, the thousands who have been deterred from entering it and those who are forced to live a life of hypocrisy solely because of this demoralizing and discriminatory policy, I say to the President, it is about time," Democratic Senate candidate Jacob Meister told ChicagoPride.com Wednesday night. 

The openly-gay candidate went on to offer startling numbers, saying: "Our government has spent more than $1.2 billion on a policy that forces gays into the closet or out of the military. Our government would sooner provide waivers to felons convicted of rape and murder, and happily wave goodbye to more than 13,000 honest men and women. The actions amount to a high-priced billion-dollar witch hunt."

A new study released Tueday by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law indicated the US military has spent between $290 million and more than a half a billion dollars implementing DADT.

Obama has been under fire from LGBT activists for a failure to follow through on campaign promises, including DADT and the Defense of Marriage Act. 

Despite the tough talk last night, some remain skeptical of the President's message. 

"Tonight President Obama reiterated his pledge to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' but as many bloggers have noted, he could have issued a stop/loss order to stop the anti-gay purges on Day 1 when he had the political capital to do it," Andy Thayer, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Network, told ChicagoPride.com after the address. "Now, when he's politically considerably weaker, with double-digit unemployment, his health insurance plan taking on water and Democratic congressmen running for political cover, he has reiterated this pledge, this time saying he'll do it this year. "

"President Obama tonight noted that 'we face a deficit of trust.' What he failed to note was that with broken promises and proposals like 'separate but equal,' is it any wonder?," concluded Thayer. 

According to a CBS News Poll following the State of the Union address, 83% of those interviewed approved of Obama's proposals. Only 17% did not.

Full Video of President Obama's address:

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