The Log Cabin Republicans are refusing to pause their federal case against the Don't Ask, Don't Tell military gay ban even though Congress has authorized the military to repeal the policy.
The ban was struck down as unconstitutional last October by U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips in Riverside, Calif.
The Obama administration, however, appealed the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and obtained a stay of Phillips' injunction that had halted the ban's enforcement worldwide.
Now the administration wants the court to put the appeal on hold while the Pentagon moves on implementing DADT's repeal—a process that could take months.
But Log Cabin isn't interested in delaying the proceedings.
"Log Cabin Republicans are acutely aware President Obama and his administration desperately want our case to just go away. That is not going to happen," said LCR Executive Director R. Clarke Cooper. "The Obama administration's continued defense of this failed and unconstitutional policy is a mystery. Don't Ask, Don't Tell was rejected by Congress, by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and most notably by the American people. It is time for the president to stand by his commitment and end this policy of discrimination."
LCR attorney Dan Woods expressed defiance.
"Despite what the government has led the American people to believe, Don't Ask, Don't Tell has not been repealed and will likely remain the law of the land until the end of 2011," Woods said. "In the meantime, openly gay individuals are not free to enlist in our armed forces, current service members must continue to live a lie, and the government continues to investigate and discharge service members. What's more, the government is trying to delay the briefing and argument on its appeal from the judgment and injunction obtained by Log Cabin Republicans."
"The government asked us to agree to the delay and we were willing to do so on one condition: that the government halt all pending investigations and discharges during the period of delay," Woods said. "The government refused, and its attorneys said that investigations and discharges will continue. For these reasons, Log Cabin Republicans' case is still alive and kicking. Our filing today (Jan. 10) opposes the government's motion to delay the appeal and asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in the alternative, to stay all investigations and discharges in the event it is prepared to grant the government's request for delay."
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
