By Nathan Koppel
In recent months, the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on gays serving openly in the military has seemed to rest on life support.
The House voted to repeal it earlier this year and Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen have spoken out against it.
Yesterday, California federal judge Virginia Phillips struck another firm blow to don’t ask, don’t tell, ruling that the policy violates service members’ free-speech and due process rights.
(Click here for the ruling, and here are accounts from WSJ,NYT and the Washington Post.)
The judge found that the policy had a harmful effect on military readiness and was “unnecessary” to advance the government’s interest in “unit cohesion” among the troops. She said in her ruling that she will issue an injunction to halt the policy, but that injunction will not go into effect immediately.
The Log Cabin Republicans, a gay-rights advocacy group that filed the suit, called the ruling “a major victory in the fight for equality.” But some social conservatives were none too pleased.
“It is hard to believe that a District Court level judge in California knows more about what impacts military readiness than the service chiefs,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.
Judge Phillips’s ruling, WaPo reports, is likely to put more pressure on Congress to act on pending legislation to repeal the military policy. The legislation has stalled in the Senate.
“It could well be the catalyst that is needed to drop some of the opposition we’ve seen in the Senate” to holding a vote, said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which has been lobbying Congress to end don’t ask, don’t tell.
========================
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
The policy known as "don't ask, don't tell'' was made law in 1993 amid a debate over the role of gays in the military.
It limits the military's ability to ask service members about their sexual orientation (don't ask)
and allows homosexuals to serve provided they keep quiet about their sexual orientation (don't tell)
and refrain from homosexual acts.
.
As a candidate for president, Senator Barack Obama vowed to end “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Once elected,
he remained critical of the policy but said it was the role of Congress to change the law;
the Justice Department has continued to defend the law in court.
In September 2010, a federal judge in California ruled that the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was unconstitutional.
While critics of "don't ask, don't tell" said the ruling was long overdue,
the decision will not change the policy right away. Any decision would probably be stayed pending appeals.
.
.
The policy had remained on the backburner throughout 2009, much to the dismay of gay rights group. Then in February 2010, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, asked Congress to allow gays to serve openly by repealing the law. Since it had been the opposition of the military to that position that had led to the creation of "don't ask, don't tell,'' their statements seemed to signal the policy's eventual demise.
Admiral Mullen told the Senate Armed Services Committee that it was his personal belief that "allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do." Mr. Gates, however, insisted that repeal should wait until the Pentagon had prepared for the change, and ordered a report on the steps needed to do so to be prepared by December 2010.
In March 2010, the Secretary of the Army, John M. McHugh, said he was effectively ignoring the law because he had no intention of pursuing discharges of active-duty service members who have told him recently that they are gay.
.
.
The House has voted for repeal, but the full Senate has not yet acted.
====================
