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发帖数: 4174 | 1 Posted on Advocate.com July 11, 2011 04:05:00 PM ET
Court Asks What Obama's Next Move Is on DADT
By Andrew Harmon
Although the Defense Department has confirmed that “don’t ask, don’t tell
” is going unenforced as a result of a court ruling last week, a key
question about the policy’s constitutionality remains alive.
And so a ninth circuit court clerk today ordered the Justice Department —
which has not appealed the ruling — to instruct the court on whether it
intends to defend the policy’s constitutionality “within such time as to .
.. enable Congress to take action to intervene in timely fashion in this
proceeding.”
The Department of Justice has offered radio silence in response to the
ruling since its Wednesday statement that it is “reviewing” the order. It
’s been five days since the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ordered
that enforcement of “don’t ask, don’t tell” must cease, despite a
lengthy, ongoing repeal process for the policy that President Obama has said
will be completed by this month.
The court also asked parties in the long-standing case against the policy,
brought by the Log Cabin Republicans, to submit arguments on whether the
suit should be rendered moot upon repeal certification of DADT. The court
ordered that both parties respond to the order within 10 days. Oral
arguments in the case before the Ninth circuit are scheduled for the week of
August 29.
In a statement reacting to the court's request, the Log Cabin Republicans
executive director Clarke Cooper complained of "months of doublespeak" by
the Obama administration on whether it will defend DADT.
"Log Cabin Republicans have been fighting against 'don't ask, don't tell' in
court for years," said Cooper, who claimed the ruling "set an important
precedent by showing that discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans
is unconstitutional." He said the ruling "is worth defending as long as 'don
't ask, don't tell' remains on the books."
Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, said, “As
the appeals process in the Ninth Circuit continues to chip away at DADT,
Leader Pelosi would oppose an appeal to reverse the underlying court
decision finding the DADT statute unconstitutional — whether the appeal is
undertaken by the [Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of Congress] or the
administration.”
Following the administration’s February announcement that it would no
longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, House Republicans hired outside
counsel, led by former George W. Bush solicitor general Paul Clement, to do
so in multiple federal challenges to the 1996 law. Congressional
intervention in this circumstance in lieu of a defense from the Justice
Department remains unknown: The Justice Department and House speaker John
Boehner’s office have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Developing ... |
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