Ryan: Banning LGBT troops 'would be a step in the wrong direction'

Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan believes that reversing the repeal of the military ban on gay and lesbian soldiers would be a "step in the wrong direction."

During an interview with WPTV that aired over the weekend, Ryan was asked to weigh in on the one-year anniversary of the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT).

"I talked to a lot of good friends of mine who are combat leaders in the theater, and they just didn't think the timing of this was right to do this when our troops were in the middle of harm's way in combat," the Wisconsin Republican told WPTV's Alex Sanz. "Now that it's done, we should not reverse it. I think that would be a step in the wrong direction because people have already disclosed themselves."

"I think this issue is past us," he added. "It's done. And I think we need to move on."

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney wrote a letter to the Log Cain Republicans in 1994 saying that he would work toward allowing LGBT people to "serve openly and honestly in our nation's military." But while running for the GOP nomination in 2007, the former Massachusetts governor said he "would not change" the military's ban if it were up to him.

After DADT was repealed in December of 2011, Romney told the Des Moines Register editorial board, "That’s already occurred. I'm not planning on reversing that at this stage."

Although Ryan twice voted against the repeal of DADT, his current attitude seems to be in line Romney's latest position.

Watch this video from WPTV, broadcast Sept. 24, 2012.

(h/t: The Huffington Post)