Litigation

U.S. Judge Enjoins ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell?

By Peter Hardin

A federal judge in California enjoined worldwide Tuesday the enforcement of the U.S. military’s ban on openly gay service members, called “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

Judge Virginia Phillips had struck down the policy last month as unconstitutional (see Gavel Grab), but that did not put an immediate halt to the policy; she gave both sides in the case time to present arguments over enjoining the policy’s enforcement.

“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,” said Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United, an organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans, according to an Associated Press article. He and the Log Cabin Republicans filed the lawsuit to halt enforcement of the policy.

A Justice Department spokesman said the judge’s action was being reviewed, and the department had no comment.

Also on Tuesday, the Justice Department announced it will appeal a ruling by a federal judge in Massachusetts who found a federal ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional, the Washington Post reported. You can learn more about that ruling from Gavel Grab.

Full post as published by The Gavel on October 12, 2010 (boomark / email).