In the midst of National Coming Out day events on the University of Wisconsin campus this week, a federal judge appealed the 17-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy Tuesday that prohibits openly gay individuals from serving in the U.S. military.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Philips issued a permanent, worldwide ban barring the policy’s enforcement, ruling in favor of the Log Cabin Republicans and a single plaintiff from Servicemembers United, the largest organization for gay and lesbian troops and veterans in the country.
“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.
Unless a higher court stays the injunction, Philip’s ruling prohibits all investigations and discharges under the policy, and suspends any other investigations that may be currently underway.
President Barack Obama and the U.S. Department of Justice still have 60 days to appeal the injunction. However, they are not required to do so.
Philips ruled the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy violated gay and lesbian service members’ First and Fifth Amendment rights.
Philips also ruled the Log Cabin Republicans could apply to have all legal fees reimbursed by the U.S.
DOJ attorneys argued repealing the policy could irreparably harm troop morale during a time of war. They also requested she apply any injunction of the policy only to 19,000 members of the Log Cabin Republicans.
The Log Cabin Republicans initially filed suit against the policy in 2004, and Philips ruled the policy violated group members’ constitutional rights Sept. 9.
The DOJ also argued the issue of gay service members should be decided by the Legislature, a stance Obama has previously supported.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a Republican, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, the military’s top uniformed officer, have both said they support lifting the ban, but said they would prefer to repeal the ban more slowly.
Gay advocacy groups across the country celebrated the decision as a victory.
“These soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen sacrifice so much in defense of our nation and our Constitution,” Christian Berle, deputy executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, said in a statement. “It is imperative that their constitutional freedoms be protected as well.”
However, even as they cheered the ruling itself many groups cautioned gay and lesbian service members against coming out immediately following the injunction.
Aaron Tax, the legal director for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said he expects the Justice Department to appeal the decision.
“Service members must proceed safely and should not come out at this time,” Tax said in a statement.
The Obama administration pushed for legislation to repeal the ban on gays in the military, but the bill was blocked in the Senate by Republicans in September.
The Pentagon is currently completing an extensive study on the impact of having openly gay members serving in the military, due by Dec. 1.
–The Associated Press contributed to this report
Due to an editing error, the print version of this story does not say The Associated Press contributed to this report. We regret the error.
