U.S. Urges Court to Hold Off on ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ Case

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Source: Bloomberg

The Obama administration urged a federal appeals court to put on hold a review of an order striking down the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy because repeal of the practice is already under way.

The U.S. military is in the final stage of implementing a process to repeal the government’s policy of requiring gays and lesbians to hide their sexual orientation or face discharge, Assistant Attorney General Tony West told a federal appeals court in San Francisco in a filing today.

The court is considering the Obama administration’s appeal of a federal judge’s ruling that struck down “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” as unconstitutional before Congress repealed the policy in December.

If the court goes ahead with review of the case, it should reverse the judge’s ruling because Log Cabin Republicans, a gay advocacy group, lacks standing to sue, the judge overstepped his authority and Congress properly established “an orderly process to repeal” “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” today’s filing said.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-26/u-s-urges-court-to-hold-off-on-don-t-ask-don-t-tell-case-1-.html