A federal judge in California has issued an injunction preventing the military from discharging gay and lesbian military service members under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
US District Judge Virginia A. Phillips ruled Tuesday that the policy “infringes the fundamental rights” of military service members and prospective service members and violates their rights to due process and freedom of speech.
Her ruling bars the Pentagon from enforcing or applying the policy and orders the military to immediately suspend and discontinue any investigations, discharges or other proceedings related to potential violations of the law.
Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United, the nation’s largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans, hailed the ruling telling the Associated Press: “This order from Judge Phillips is another historic and courageous step in the right direction, a step that Congress has been noticeably slow in taking.”
The lawsuit to end the policy was brought by the Log Cabin Republicans and Phillips ruling came after a two week trial last July. The US Department of Justice has 60 days to appeal the ruling—and could do so since President Obama has been clear that he wants Congress to repeal the ban instead of having it done through the courts.
That’s the same argument made by the religious right—who fear that ending DADT will, among other things, strip chaplains of their religious freedom to preach against homosexuality.
“One of the problems with it going through the legal system is that there will be no legislative rules written about how chaplains and other Christian military people are treated and what their rights are under a new policy,” Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Bentley B. Rayburn, the executive director for the Presbyterian and Reformed Joint Commission on Chaplains and Military Personnel said. “We’re concerned not only that Christian chaplains (be able to) preach the truth from the pulpit, but beyond that that they are not forced into supporting things that would be contrary to their moral understanding of the biblical principles.”
Defenders of the policy, like Ed Whelan, president of Ethics and Public Policy Center, have little faith in the DOJ saying that even if the ruling is appealed, the defense will be weak:
“(The DOJ) refused to put forward any serious defense, because its political agenda trumped its obligation to defend the law,” Whelan said. “This is part of the Obama administration’s ongoing sabotage of the DADT law. It also just shows liberal judicial activism in operation.”
It never takes the religious right long to toss out the “judicial activism” card. Just for them I’ll end this blog with a video reminder on the role “activist judges” have played throughout history:
