Injunction strikes down enforcement of DADT - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Injunction strikes down enforcement of DADT

A federal judge issued a sweeping injunction Tuesday halting enforcement of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy prohibiting open military service by gays, but the ruling is likely to have little immediate affect on the force.

Judge Virginia A. Phillips ordered the Defense Department to “suspend and discontinue any investigation, or discharge, separation, or other proceeding” related to the policy.

But advocates for gay and lesbian service members cautioned against any public statements about their homosexuality. “Service members must proceed safely and should not come out at this time,” the group, the Service Members Legal Defense Network, said in a statement shortly after the injunction was issued Tuesday.

Phillips sits on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, which covers a handful of counties in that state. It is part of the 9th Circuit, which covers Alaska, Hawaii, the West Coast states, Arizona, Idaho and Montana.

Defense Department officials declined immediate comment on the ruling’s impact or reach. “We have just learned of this ruling,” Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said late Tuesday. “We are now studying it and we will be in consultation with the Department of Justice.”

Government attorneys have 60 days to appeal. Legal experts say they are under no legal obligation to do so and could let Phillips’ ruling stand.

The federal government is reviewing the ruling and has no immediate comment, said Tracy Schmaler, spokeswoman for the Department of Justice.

Phillips declared the law unconstitutional after a two-week nonjury trial in federal court in Riverside and said she would issue a nationwide injunction. But she asked first for input from Justice Department attorneys and the Log Cabin Republicans, the gay-rights group that filed the lawsuit in 2004 to stop the ban’s enforcement.

The Log Cabin Republicans asked her for an immediate injunction so the policy can no longer be used against any U.S. military personnel anywhere in the world.

“The order represents a complete and total victory for the Log Cabin Republicans and reaffirms the constitutional rights of gays and lesbians in the military for fighting and dying for our country,” said Dan Woods, an attorney for the Log Cabin group.

Government attorneys objected, saying such an abrupt change might harm military operations in a time of war. They had asked Phillips to limit her ruling to the members of the Log Cabin Republicans, a 19,000-member group that includes current and former military service members.

The Justice Department also said Congress should decide the issue — not her court.

Phillips disagreed, saying the law doesn’t help military readiness and instead has a “direct and deleterious effect” on the armed services by hurting recruiting during wartime and requiring the discharge of service members with critical skills and training.

After listening to the testimonies of military officers who have been discharged under the policy, Phillips said the law violates the free speech and due process rights of service members.

Legal experts say the Obama administration could choose to not appeal her ruling to end the ban — but Department of Justice attorneys are not likely to stay mum since Obama has made it clear he wants Congress to repeal the policy.

“The president has taken a very consistent position here, and that is: ‘Look, I will not use my discretion in any way that will step on Congress’ ability to be the sole decider about this policy here,’ ” said Diane H. Mazur, legal co-director of the Palm Center, a think tank at the University of California at Santa Barbara that supports a repeal.