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The study has determined that repealing the controversial DADT policy would not create any major problems. 

"The report said what everyone knew it would say. Evidence of widespread support in the general public and the military is vast," said Gary Gates, senior research fellow at the UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy and co-author of "The Gay and Lesbian Atlas."

The report includes a poll of active-duty military and families. Surveys were sent to 400,000 military personnel with a 28 percent return rate.The poll, along with the results of town hall-style meetings with military personnel, found that 70 per cent of troops believed that repealing the law would have mixed, positive or no effect, while 30 percent predicted negative consequences. Opposition was strongest among combat troops, with 40 percent saying it was a bad idea.

The study found that 92 percent of troops who worked with a gay service member believed their experience to be good, very good or had no effect. 

Army Gen. Carter Ham, co-author of the report, calls it the most comprehensive personnel policy assessment the Defense Department has ever seen. Ham said the report will help to understand the impacts upon effectiveness, cohesion and recruiting and helps to develop a plan for implementation if the policy is repealed.

The pressure will be high for Senators to publicize their views after weeks of division on the standing of DADT. Both Democrats and Republicans have resisted a commitment to either side claiming they wanted to see the Pentagon's report before making judgements. 

The majority of Democrats and independents favor the repeal of DADT while Republicans remain divided on the issue. 40 percent of Republicans are in favor of the repeal while 44 percent--mostly conservative Republicans--oppose. 

The Armed Services Committee will hold hearings Thursday and Friday to discuss the contents of the report. Senator John McCain is said to have questioned Ham in the week's hearings.

McCain has highly criticized the report. In an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley Sunday, McCain said the report should have focused on the correctness of the policy change instead of how the policy should be implemented. He stressed his urge to know the effect the policy change would have on battle effectiveness and morale. 

"McCain made some comments questioning mythological support. The company that did this survey is a highly regarded company that does hundreds of reports for the government each year. His criticism is weak at best," Gates said.

Republicans, including McCain, have called the repeal of DADT a political promise made by a presidential candidate to lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender activist groups.

With the repeal will come questions about the rights of LGBT partners and spouses in the U.S. and overseas, where foreign policies prohibit homosexuality.

Practical questions, according to NPR, include: Will legal LGBT marriages be recognized in the military?; Will LGBT partners get the same benefits as straight married couples?; Will the children of LGBT service members get the same free education benefits as other military kids?; Will open LGBT troops be treated as a minority group? 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has promised to bring the issue to a vote before the end of the year, before Republicans take control of the House and increase their numbers in the Senate in January. 

The administration appealed the case and a stay has been applied but it is not clear what will happen. The repeal's passage is anyone's guess now according to Gates. 

Reach Reporter Kristen Villarreal here.