Perhaps, finally, it is a change whose time has come. With the nation’s top two military leaders calling for an end to the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the service, it is clear that the country and the military have come a long way since then-President Bill Clinton failed in his first-term effort to allow gays to serve openly.

The result of that effort was “don’t ask, don’t tell,” a policy that prohibited gay and lesbian troops from talking about their orientation and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, barring military brass from investigating them. It was, at best, an awkward compromise, one that ignored the fact of military service by openly gay troops in other countries.

It was something of that sort that got to Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens,” Mullen told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Meanwhile, his boss, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates —appointed by former President George W. Bush—has said he “fully supports” President Obama’s plan to end the policy, working in conjunction with Congress. It’s the right move. With military leaders on board, and with much of the country having come to view homosexuality as falling within the sweep of mainstream life, it is hard to argue that it is too soon to begin fully integrating gays into the military.

That doesn’t mean the change will be easy or swift. Indeed, Mullen observed that it will cause “some disruption in the force,” but social change always does that. That’s what happened when African-American servicemen began serving side by side with white troops.

There will need to be changes, and although we were disappointed with the negative reaction of Sen. John McCain— who previously backed allowing gays to serve openly—he is correct that unexpected challenges may arise if the change occurs while the wars continue in Afghanistan and Iraq. That doesn’t mean the Pentagon should wait until those conflicts end, though—it just means that they have to be factored into the planning.

Some troops won’t want to serve alongside gay and lesbian members of the services but, as with the racial integration of the services, they can’t be allowed to drive this policy. The fact is that, whether they know it or not, gays and lesbians already serve in their units. They already put their lives at risk for the country. It’s time to let them serve with the honor and dignity that our military men and women deserve.