WASHINGTON » The House delivered a victory to President Barack Obama and gay rights groups yesterday by approving a proposal to repeal the law that allows gays to serve in the military only if they do not disclose their sexual orientation.

The 234-194 vote to overturn the military's “;don't ask, don't tell”; policy reflected a view among many in Congress that America is ready for a military in which gays and straights can stand side by side in the trenches.

“;I know that our military draws its strength on the integrity of our unified force, and current law challenges this integrity by creating two realities within the ranks,”; said Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif.

Republicans, who voted overwhelmingly against it, cited statements by some military leaders that they need more time to study how a change in the law could affect the lives and readiness of service members.

The House vote came just hours after the Senate Armed Services Committee took the same course and voted 16-12 in favor of repealing the 1993 law (Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka voted in favor). In both cases the measure was offered as an amendment to a defense spending bill.

Obama and leading Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had actively supported the repeal so that gays could serve in the military without fear of being exposed and discharged.

“;This is the beginning of the end of a shameful ban on open service by lesbian and gay troops that has weakened our national security,”; Joe Solmonese, president of Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights organization, said after the Senate panel's vote.

During an all-day House debate on the bill approving more than $700 billion in spending for defense programs, Republicans repeated statements by military chiefs that Congress should not act before the Pentagon completes a study on the impact of a repeal.

Democratic supporters stressed that the amendment was written so that the repeal would not go into effect until after the Pentagon publishes a December report on a survey on how service members and their families view the change, and until the president, the defense secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that the repeal will not affect the military's ability to fight.

The chief sponsor of the amendment, Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., who served in the Iraq War, said that when he was in Baghdad “;my teams did not care whether a fellow soldier was straight or gay if they could fire their assault rifle or run a convoy down ambush alley and do their job so everyone would come home safely.”;

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said that of the 13,500 members of the military who have been discharged under “;don't ask, don't tell,”; more than 1,000 filled critical occupations, such as engineers.

He compared the arguments of the opposition to 1948 speeches in Congress when lawmakers warned that integrating the troops would undermine morale.

The drive to repeal the ban still faces a tough road in the full Senate, where Republicans are likely to filibuster it.

“;I think it's really going to be very harmful to the morale and effectiveness of our military,”; said Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee and a leading opponent of repeal.

The Senate probably will take up the bill next month.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he supports repeal but would prefer waiting for the December report.

Under “;don't ask, don't tell,”; military leaders do not investigate a service member as long as the person does not disclose that he or she is gay or has a same-sex relationship, which are grounds for dismissal.

Also yesterday the House rejected an amendment to the defense bill that would have cut $485 million from the bill designated for a second engine for the new F-35 fighter jet.

Gates opposes the extra engine as wasteful and unneeded, but supporters of the engine made by General Electric and Rolls-Royce PLC contended that the competition between engine makers would save money in the 30- to 40-year life cycle of the $100 billion project.