Federal appeals court keeps ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’ policy in place

A federal appeals court on Monday has extended the suspension of a California judge’s halt to the ban on openly gay people serving in the military.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Obama administration’s request for a stay on a recent injunction of the Clinton-era “Don’t ask, don’t tell” law. The Obama administration is challenging U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips’ ruling that the ban is unconstitutional.

{mosads}Because of the appeals court’s suspension of the injunction, military service members who disclose their sexual orientation can be discharged. Prospective enlistees also cannot sign up if they disclose their sexual orientation.

Judge Phillips, in October, barred the enforcement of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” law. Phillips ordered the Department of Defense to halt investigations and discharges of military members stemming from the Clinton-era law. The case that won the nationwide injunction is Log Cabin Republicans v. United States of America. The federal judge last month issued a final ruling that “Don’t ask, don’t tell” was unconstitutional.

Obama, who has promised a repeal of the law, now has to put pressure on the Senate to adopt in the coming weeks the 2011 defense authorization bill which contains repeal language.

Obama, who decided to challenge the California judge’s ruling, is in a tough spot. If Congress does not vote on the repeal, he risks to alienate the gay and human rights community — a strong voting bloc for him during the 2008 presidential election. The congressional schedule and priority list is up in the air and will be determined by the outcome of Tuesday midterm election.

“Today’s decision is a major disappointment, and it underscores the urgent need for the Senate to act this month in the lame duck session to end this confusion and bring about the finality that is needed,” said Aubrey Sarvise, the executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an organization dedicated to repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” “We continue to warn service members that it is unsafe to come out as long as this law remains on the books.”

Republicans are expected to gain a large number of seats in the House and erode the Democrats’ majority in the Senate. That could make any agreement on repealing the law a tough proposition in Congress since most Republicans are opposed to repeal.

The House has successfully included legislation to repeal “Don’t ask, don’t tell” in the 2011 defense authorization bill, but the Senate has yet to act on that legislation.