SAN FRANCISCO – Log Cabin Republicans have filed with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals calling upon the Department of Defense to end discharges under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy.
In a brief filed in San Francisco, lawyers for Log Cabin Republicans said keeping the policy in place was “absurd.”
At issue is the constitutionality of Congress allowing the policy to stay in effect to give the Pentagon time to train troops and take other steps outlined in December when lawmakers repealed the 1993 law that put the ban in place. Under the new policy, the restrictions remain until the Pentagon certifies that the change won’t damage combat readiness.
The repeal came several months after a federal district judge issued an injunction barring enforcement of DADT, declaring in September that the policy was unconstitutional.
The Obama administration request to keep the policy in place was made in its brief challenging the injunction. Dan Woods, who is representing the Log Cabin Republicans, replied in the brief filed Monday.
“Even though a judge found this to be unconstitutional and the administration is not disagreeing with that, they are still investigating and able to discharge people,” he said.
“Log Cabin Republicans call for the administration to stop playing games with the fundamental freedoms of gay and lesbian service members. It is time for President Obama to stop discharging patriotic Americans because of their sexual orientation,” R. Clarke Cooper, Executive Director of Log Cabin Republicans, said. “As long as the President and his Department of Defense continue enforcement of this policy they are asserting that discrimination is more important than advancing service members based on merit and performance.”
