Having lost a key ruling in federal court involving the government’s ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military, the Obama administration continues to fight the outlawing of “don’t ask, don’t tell” despite the president’s insistence he wants the prohibition lifted.

 

The Department of Justice asked a federal judge this week to continue enforcement of the law by imposing an injunction on Judge Virginia Phillips’s ruling on September 9 that “don’t ask, don’t tell” is unconstitutional because it violates the free speech and due process rights of gay service members.

 

The Log Cabin Republicans, who filed the lawsuit that resulted in Phillips striking down the law, called the government’s injunction request “ridiculous.”

 

“It’s our view that the objections fail to recognize the implications of the government's defeat at this trial,” Dan Woods, lead attorney for the gay GOP group, told The Advocate. Woods added that the government’s request “ignores the harm that would be suffered by current and potential service members” while the legal battle continues in court.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

DOJ to Judge: Keep Enforcing DADT (by Andrew Harmon and Editors, The Advocate)

Log Cabin Republicans v. United States (U.S. District Court, Central California, Eastern Division) (pdf)

Gay Republican Lawsuit on Gays in Military Goes to Trial (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

The End of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? Not Yet: Air Force Discharges Lesbian Officer (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)