Last month, District Court Judge Virginia Phillips ruled that the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy barring openly gay troops from serving was unconstitutional. Today, she issued an injunction to the military worldwide, with one simple directive: The policy must end now. Since DADT "infringes the fundamental rights of United States servicemembers," all branches of the military must immediately halt all discharges, separations and investigations of service members under the policy. DADT is still on the books, but it is now unenforceable.
Opponents of this discriminatory policy, however, should not be popping corks. The Department of Justice -- which already sought unsuccessfully to limit the injunction's effect to the plaintiffs, the Log Cabin Republicans -- will almost certainly ask the Court to stay today's injunction and will appeal Judge Phillips' ruling. Then, as the case works its way through the courts, discharges of qualified men and women who serve our country will continue for years to come.
This does not have to happen. Legal experts have concurred: President Obama can permanently end "don't ask, don't tell" today, simply by ordering the DOJ not to appeal the Log Cabin ruling. This is now the White House's ideal option for ending "don't ask, don't tell," for no shortage of reasons.
First, DADT is harmful to our military. Leading DADT expert Nathaniel Frank looked at the history of the policy, and found the disturbing facts: Far from improving unit cohesion, performance, and morale, DADT undermines it by encouraging gay and lesbian service members to be dishonest. It has harmed recruitment by making the military a discriminatory, anti-gay institution in the eyes of our young people. And it has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Perhaps most crucially, it has led to the discharges of hundreds of specialists serving in the very fields -- linguistics, intelligence, and medical services -- in which recruitment is sorely lacking.
Ending DADT now is not only good for the military; for the White House, it is also good politics. Nearly every article about the upcoming election has made note of the vast "enthusiasm gap" that has Republicans far more excited to vote than Democrats. Much of this gap can be traced to the failure to accomplish key Democratic priorities. If Obama's Department of Justice declines to appeal the Log Cabin ruling, he will not just fulfill a promise he has repeatedly made from the campaign trail to this year's State of the Union address -- he will awaken his base and their faith in his leadership.
Those who favor appealing the Log Cabin case will make several predictable arguments. They will argue, as the White House has done thus far, that the task of repealing "don't ask, don't tell" should be left in the hands of Congress. But the Senate shirked that responsibility in September when it failed to pass the bill that would have allowed for the end of "don't ask, don't tell" next year. That bill is unlikely to pass during the lame-duck session, at least not with the repeal language intact, and with Republicans certain to make major gains in Congress in the upcoming election, legislative repeal could be quite difficult during the next congressional term.
In ruling so decisively against "don't ask, don't tell," Judge Phillips has presented President Obama with a stark choice. He can appeal the ruling, excuse this decision with the fiction that Congress is poised to act on repeal, and guarantee that these unjust and discriminatory discharges will continue for years to come. Or he can strengthen our military by allowing thousands of gay and lesbian service members to openly serve our country.
Mr. President: For the good of our military and our country, choose the latter. The time has come to kill "don't ask, don't tell," and Judge Phillips has just handed you the axe.
Obama's position is fundamentally Anti-Gay. He is no friend to the Gay Community just like he has been no friend to average American families trapped in the never ending mortgage crisis. As he said in the Atlantic article, he does not plan to work with Dems after the election; he still talks about working only the GOP.
DUMP OBAMA ins 1012 but VOTE DEM in 2010.
Especially if they do it right after the election?
Actions speak louder than words.
Obama and the Democrats waited 19 months to try and overturn this in Congress. With little effort. And failed.
Will the LGBT community be willing to support Obama, knowing that he has openly lied to them?
Or, the DoJ can appeal and the case can go to higher court, then to the Supreme Court. You know, the way Brown v Board and Roe v Wade did?
The Department of Justice is NOT an independent agency no matter how much Obamapologists tell themselves it is. The Justice Department is appointed by the President and it is a policy arm of the Executive Branch.
Obama could end DADT today with the stroke of a pen ordering the DOJ not to appeal the ruling.
Don't let an Obamapologist tell you any different.
OR, we can have a SCOTUS ruling that permanently ends DADT. I like that second option. Liking it doesn't make me an "obot" or "obamapologist" or whatever new cute name you've thought up this week.
Argentina
Austria
Australia
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Columbia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
Germany
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Lithuania
Luxembourg
the Netherlands
New Zealand
Romania
Russia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
United Kingdom
Uruguay
Fortunately for our nation, President Harry Truman issued an executive order ending segregation in the Armed Forces with a stroke of his pen despite the fact that most of the public and the military opposed the idea.
Truman believed it was the job of the president to lead, not to follow.
President Obama would do well to follow Truman's example instead of backtracking on his commitments to the LGBT community and ignoring the wishes of the majority of those, both gay and straight, who voted for him.
Bill & Marilyn Voorhies, West Tremont, ME
Marilyn Voorhies, West Tremont, ME
The obama administration is planning to appeal. So, here we are. Say it proudly=Obama and his Administration = homophobes. He is no more for civil rights than Bush. Tell me again why any LGBT person should support this administration?
You want a "fierce advocate". Give money and vote for Jerry Brown. He courageously refused to appeal Proposition 8 because he believed it was unconstitutional. Even Schwarzenegger showed that courage.
You would think someone who promised to be our "fierce advocate" would show at least as much courage as Schwarzenegger.
CNN is reporting that our "fierce advocate" is about to throw us under the bus on DADT and DOMA.
Bring on the 2012 Primary Challenge!
The judge's ruling already applies to the whole country.
There is no good reason for an appeal.
We also know that the Senate is going to revisit DADT after the election.
Further, we know that the Joint Chiefs, the Defense Dept, and the Pentagon have all called for the end of DADT.
The President and the Justice Dept. are not going to act before either of these things come to pass. He's a get all the evidence and weigh it out before acting kind of guy.
It is highly unlikely that he will have the justice dept. pursue an appeal and put in the hands of the most conservative Supreme Court in history. The president never wanted this issue demogued. He never wanted exaggerated hyperbole. He wanted it done right. He would prefer the congress does it, but the court decision is an excellent fallback. He's not going to tempt fate.