Military ban on openly gay servicemen and women banned

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
7/7/2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

'Don't ask, don't tell' repealed by federal appeals court

A federal appeals court has ruled that the government must stop enforcing the law that prohibits openly gay men, lesbians and bisexuals from serving in the military. A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a two-page order against the policy known as "don't ask, don't tell" in a case brought by the group Log Cabin Republicans.

A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a two-page order against the policy known as 'don't ask, don't tell' in a case brought by the group Log Cabin Republicans.

Facebook Delicous MySpace

Twitter Stumble Digg

More Destinations

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - A federal judge in California, Virginia A. Phillips, ruled in 2010 that the law was unconstitutional and ordered the government to stop enforcing it. That decision was then appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which issued a stay allowing the government to continue enforcing the policy as it made its way through the courts.

The policy was repealed by Congress last year, but called for a lengthy process of preparation, training and certification before ending it, and while the government has significantly narrowed enforcement, some discharges for openly gay and lesbian service people continued. While the Obama administration had advocated the Congressional repeal, it had also asked the court to keep the policy in place until the matter could be ended in an orderly fashion.

Judges Alex Kozinski, Kim McLane Wardlaw and Richard A. Paez stated in their order that "circumstances and balance of hardships had changed" since their initial ruling: the Obama administration had informed the court that repeal of the policy was "well under way," and in a filing in another case on July 1, the Department of Justice took the position that discrimination based on sexual orientation should be subjected to tough scrutiny. The government, the judges wrote, "can no longer satisfy the demanding standard for issuance of a stay."

"People no longer should have to wait for the politicians and the bureaucrats to certify that the military is ready for repeal," Dan Woods, the lawyer who represented the Log Cabin Republicans said.

A Department of Justice spokeswoman said, "We're reviewing the ruling," and had no comment on whether the department would appeal the decision.

� 2011, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: 'Don't ask, don't tell, ' gays and lesbains, military service

NEWSLETTERS »

Rate This Article

Was this helpful to you? Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Would you be interested in more articles like this? Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

1 - 6 of 6 Comments

Andrew
1 year ago
Why must citizens who want to fight for their country be discriminated against? The real issue that congress should be working on is the terrible treatment of many female soldiers.
Bulbajer
1 year ago
John D., my guess is that those short lifespans (tragic indeed) come from drug abuse which can be found in some homosexual communities. I'll look into it more.
John D
1 year ago
Bulbajer and Chuck, you are missing a critical piece of the puzzle. The average life span of a male homosexual is only 38 years, even when they live in communities where the life style is openly accepted. Considering this sad truth, which is whitewashed by the homosexual agenda, why would you want to encoruage this activity on any level whatsoever? Homosexuality is detrimental to your health. Those who are afflicted with a same sex attraction need prayer and support, not encouragement to engage in activities that end up shortening their lives. This politically correct nonsense must end. Please check out this article and scroll down to the section entitled, "What does the scientific evidence show about homosexuality?" • http://www.catholic.com/library/gay_marriage.asp
techwreck
1 year ago
So, now our courts are equating behavior with God-given rights, and homosexual behavior is considered equal to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. An immoral behavior has been added to the list of precious rights that deserve the protection of our Constitution. This "right" must be protected, regardless of the effects on the defense of our country or the condition of our society.

I say "behavior" because there is no way to know what someone's sexual orientation is until it is reflected in the way they behave. The military policy of "don't ask ... "protected the thoughts and private lives of our soldiers, but the activists were not satisfied until their behavior was allowed, no matter how disruptive or repugnant (have you witnesses a so-called "Gay Rights" parade?).

Those who risked "their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor" as they signed the Declaration of Independence must be turning in their graves due to our ignorance of what America was all about and what it would take to protect our God-given gift of liberty. God help us.
Bulbajer
1 year ago
I agree with Chuck Anziulewicz.
Chuck Anziulewicz
1 year ago
Everyone in the military knows that Gay soldiers have always been there. Everyone in the military knows that Gay and Straight soldiers have always showered together and bunked together. None of that was ever going to change whether “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was kept or repealed. I don’t know why people are getting all bent out of shape about it now.

For what it’s worth, I really don’t care if any soldier, Gay OR Straight, is disciplined or booted out of the military because of inappropriate conduct when on-duty. That’s not what’s at issue here. A qualified soldier should not be at risk for losing his career simply because of who he’s dating on his own time.

Hold all soldiers to the same standards of professional behavior, regardless of their sexual orientation, and the military will be able to do its job just fine. We don’t need DADT to accomplish that goal.

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment