These men shamelessly told viewers how they would treat openly gay military personnel: "I'd harass them," said one. "Hazings, you know, stuff like that." Another man issued a more ominous warning: "People fall overboard," he said casually. "It happens."

President Clinton bought time in dealing with this issue by allowing Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) to hold Senate hearings before the ban is formally rescinded. But it would be a perilous mistake for Clinton to ignore the issue until his six-month grace period expires and then to attempt an immediate reversal of policy.

While he waits for Nunn's Senate panel to "study" the issue, Clinton needs to maintain a public dialogue on the question of gays in the military.

Before and after he ends the ban, he should conduct an educational campaign directed at changing attitudes and reinforcing his own conviction that the ban on gays and lesbians is wrong. Otherwise, the situation he will face in six months will be no different from the one he confronted in his first weeks in office.

We can forgive the president for putting the issue aside for now, as he builds support for his economic proposals. But he should not assume that no one wants to hear about "fringe" issues like institutionalized bigotry. Surely, many people are horrified by the continued legal sanction on hatred and intolerance.

Allen Schindler's brutal murder resulted in part from an institutional setting that condones bigotry by codifying it into policy. The policy, and the attitudes it fosters, must change.