Department of Justice cites Colin Powell's old 'don't ask' view

[IndianaGreen]

Department of Justice cites Colin Powell's old 'don't ask' view

By JOSH GERSTEIN | 3/30/10 1:07 PM EDT
Updated: 3/30/10 1:58 PM EDT

At the same time the Obama administration is taking some initial steps toward dismantling the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell" policy, the Justice Department is continuing to vigorously defend the policy in federal court, angering gay activists in the process.

The latest point of friction with gay advocates is a brief filed Monday night in federal court in California that repeatedly quotes from retired Gen. Colin Powell’s statements nearly two decades ago in favor of the gays-in-the-military ban without noting that Powell has since reversed himself on the issue.

“This is pretty shocking,” said Richard Socarides, the White House liaison to the gay community under President Bill Clinton. “When Powell said this 18 years ago, it was inflammatory and incendiary. ... ’s now said this stuff isn’t even true anymore.”

In his State of the Union speech earlier this year President Barack Obama said he would work to repeal the ban on gays in the military because “it’s the right thing to do," and both Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen went before Congress to argue for repeal. Powell issued a statement endorsing the efforts, saying that since the policy was enacted, “attitudes and circumstances have changed.”

Several activists complained that the brief filed by the Justice Department on Monday includes arguments that the presence of gays increases sexual tension in military units and invades the privacy of other service members.

“The only right-wing talking point they left out is the ‘we're in two wars’ argument,” activist Joe Sudbay wrote at Americablog.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/35196.html

[katandmoon]

1. Well, of course it does! I would expect nothing less from Obama's DOJ.