Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 10:21:54 -0500 From: Song Weaver Subject: White House denies "muzzling" on gays policy WASHINGTON (UPI) -- A White House spokeswoman Monday described as "fiction" a report that the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff were muzzled before the new "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" policy on gays in the military was announced. Press secretary Dee Dee Myers denied the report in The Washington Times that the military chiefs were summoned to the White House to make sure there was no public dissent a few hours before the revised policy was announced Dec. 22 by Defense Secretary Les Aspin. "That's fiction," said Myers, who added that the Pentagon also would be issuing a statement later denying the report. She said that Gen. Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other top military leaders were very involved in the consultation and formulation of the policy. "They were not muzzled," she said. "They were involved." The Times said that the Joint Chiefs of Staff "were told to accept" the policy despite strenuous arguments by some against the regulations. The report quoted a military officer as saying "soldiers know when to salute." The "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue policy" forbids the military from inquiring about a potential military recruit's sexual orientation but also requires gay soldiers to keep their sexual orientation to themselves. The policy also forbids military commanders from ordering investigations solely to find out a service member's sexual orientation.