Wolf Blitzer just teased his new interview with former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who expressed that he has “no problem” with marriage equality:

BLITZER: You were Chairman of the Joint Chiefs when you installed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy in the U.S. military that prevented gays from serving openly. I know you changed your attitude over these years, but what about gay marriage? Are you with the President in supporting gay marriage?

POWELL: I have no problem with it, and it was the Congress that imposed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, though it was certainly my position and my recommendation to get us out of an even worse outcome that could have occurred, as you’ll recall. But as I’ve thought about gay marriage, I know a lot of friends who are individually gay but are in partnerships with loved ones, and they are as stable a family as my family is, and they raise children. And so I don’t see any reason not to say that they should be able to get married.

Powell went on to say he believes the American people are coming around on this issue too. Watch it:

Powell is one of many prominent leaders who have followed President Obama’s lead in supporting the freedom to marry for all families.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said during a press conference on Thursday that a new report has found that the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is proceeding “very well,” but refused to give their personal opinions about same-sex marriage.

“No, I have not found any negative effect on good order or discipline,” Dempsey said in response to a question about the DADT policy, before noting that the armed forces had been hesitant to lift the ban on open service because of the uncertainty that accompanied the change. “It’s not impacting on moral, it’s not impacting on unit cohesion, it is not impacting on readiness” Panetta added. “It’s become part and parcel of what they’ve accepted within the military.”

The Secretary also addressed the military’s policy on marriage, reiterating that gay and lesbian servicemembers can wed in states that recognize their relationships:

REPORTER: As a military officer and the idea that everyone in the service is to be treated equally, does it concern you that some service members are allowed to get married, say on military bases, other service members do not have that right? [...]

PANETTA: And with regards to you know, the question on marriage. In that instance it’s very clear that state law controls in that situation. So you know, where state law provides for that, then obviously, that kind of marriage can take place. And if the law prohibits that, then it cannot take place on a military base.

Watch it:

The Pentagon announced that it will allow military chaplains to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies in September and ruled that “Defense Department property may be used for private functions, including religious and other ceremonies such as same-sex unions, as long as it’s not prohibited by state or local laws.” Republicans have repeatedly sought to change the policy and have attached an amendment to the defense authorization bill outlawing same-sex unions on Pentagon property.

Panetta also noted that the Defense Department is reviewing which benefits gay couples can qualify for in light of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex relationships.

Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) is still concerned that the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has made the military too gay-friendly. He has proposed an amendment (PDF) to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act that would essentially create a “license to bully” for military personnel with anti-gay beliefs, with a special layer of protection for military chaplains:

The Armed Forces shall accommodate the conscience and sincerely held moral principles and religious beliefs of the members of the Armed Forces concerning the appropriate and inappropriate expression of human sexuality and may not use such conscience, principles, or beliefs as the basis of any adverse personnel action, discrimination, or denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment. [...]

No member of the Armed Forces may (A) direct, order, or require a chaplain to perform any duty, rite, ritual, ceremony, service, or function that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the chaplain, or contrary to the moral principles and religious beliefs of the endorsing faith group of the chaplain; or (B) discriminate or take any adverse personnel action against a chaplain, including denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment, on the basis of the refusal by the chaplain to comply with a direction, order, or requirement prohibited by sub-paragraph (A).

In other words, under Akin’s amendment, any servicemember would have free reign to express anti-gay views, regardless of what consequences they have to unit morale. For example, homophobic officers could intimidate and condemn gay troops serving under them, compromising productivity and creating a hostile environment of disrespect and potential violence. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell may no longer be law, but it seems Akin still wants a military that forces out its gay troops.

Last year, all of the anti-gay amendments offered by Akin and Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) were ultimately dropped from the defense budget. Hopefully the same happens this year.