Washington, September 24: Weeks after a federal judge struck down a U.S. military rule that bans openly gay men and women from the armed forces, the Obama administration has sought to keep the policy mostly intact while Congress debates the issue.
The administration’s stance, urging more time to gauge the impact of ending the ban and calling for a political solution rather than one imposed by the courts, also came two days after the U.S. Senate blocked legislation that would have repealed the policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
President Barack Obama campaigned in 2008 on a promise of a full repeal and that vow has emerged as a big political issue for the gay and lesbian community before congressional elections on Nov. 2.
Many Republicans fiercely oppose altering the 17-year-old policy, which continued the long-time ban on homosexual acts in the military but allowed gay men and lesbians to serve in the armed forces so long as they keep their sexual orientation private. Otherwise, they are to be expelled.
The executive director of the National Centre for Lesbian Rights, Kate Kendall, called the U.S. Justice Department’s court position a betrayal.
“It is offensive and contrary to the spirit of Obama’s promise to end don’t ask, don’t tell,” she said.
Executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans Clarke Cooper challenged don’t ask, don’t tell in court.
The gay rights group added, “We are extremely disappointed.”
However, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs insisted that the government’s filing “in no way diminishes the president’s firm commitment to achieve a legislative repeal. Indeed, it clearly shows why Congress must act to end this misguided policy.”
Don’t ask, don’t tell was introduced in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and enacted into law, overturning a previous policy of excluding gay men and women altogether based on a premise that homosexuality was incompatible with the military.
But U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips declared the law to be unconstitutional, ruling in an 86-page opinion on Sept. 9 that it violates the First and Fifth amendments.
Phillips said then that she intended to issue an injunction restricting the government from enforcing the policy.
But Obama’s lawyers asked that Phillips refrain from applying her ruling nationally, or to the military overseas.
Instead, the Department of Justice argued that the immediate effect of her decision should be to prohibit the military from expelling openly gay service members who belong to the Log Cabin Republicans.
Regardless of how broadly or narrowly Phillips ultimately applies her ruling, the administration asked for more time to assess the consequences of her decision.
“A court should not compel an immediate cessation of the 17-year-old policy without regard for any effect such an abrupt change might have on the military’s operations,” the department said.
In March 2010, Defence Secretary Robert Gates imposed tougher rules of evidence and generally made it more difficult to discharge openly gay military personnel.
–Agencies