SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge issued a worldwide injunction Tuesday stopping enforcement of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, ending the military's 17-year-old ban on openly gay troops. U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips' landmark ruling was widely cheered by gay rights organizations that credited her with getting accomplished what President Obama and Washington politics could not.
"This order from Judge Phillips is another historic and courageous step in the right direction, a step that Congress has been noticeably slow in taking," said Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United and the sole named veteran plaintiff in the case along with the Log Cabin Republicans.Servicemembers United is the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans.
U.S. Department of Justice attorneys have 60 days to appeal. Legal experts say the department is under no legal obligation to do so and could let Phillips' ruling stand. ( the rest )
Here we go....We have had some issues with the Obama DOJ in the past. All sorts of GOP approved briefs have come out of them. 2008 Mr. Obama claimed to be our FIERCE ADVOCATE! And has been all but perfect in giving us ALL the lip service we need. Speaking at the HRC dinner the night before his State of the Nation speech, and in that speech claiming that he WOULD overturn DADT.
And yet, still gay and lesbian service people are being discharged.
He has been touring the country trying to gin up the Democratic base, he is on the precipice here, lgbt and that all important "A" part of that abbreviation. We are the Democratic base, Mr. President.
The DOJ has 60 days to appeal injunction.
UPDATE
NOT A GOOD SIGN : ( from PAM'S HOUSE BLEND ) Today, the Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal in the case of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, the challenge brought by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) to Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Representing seven married same-sex couples and three widowers, GLAD filed Gill in March 2009. The case was heard in May 2010 by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph L. Tauro, who issued a decision finding DOMA Section 3 unconstitutional on July 8, 2010.
"We fully expected an appeal and are more than ready to meet it head on," said Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD's Civil Rights Project Director. "DOMA brings harm to families like our plaintiffs every day, denying married couples and their children basic protections like health insurance, pensions, and Social Security benefits. We are confident in the strength of our case."
The case is now before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The next step will be for the government to file its brief to that court arguing that Judge Tauro's ruling was wrong. GLAD will then file its brief in opposition to the government, and finally the government will file a reply brief. At that point, the appeal will be scheduled for oral argument. Briefing could be concluded by the spring of 2011 with oral argument to follow by the fall of 2011.
The government also today filed its notice of appeal in the related case Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Department of Health and Human Services.
Co-counsel in the Gill case are attorneys from the firms Foley Hoag LLP, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Jenner & Block LLP, and Kator, Parks & Weiser, PLLC.
In a nutshell Gill v Office of Personal Management is the case out of Massachusetts suing the Federal government, cause same sex couples that are LEGALLY married in the state of Massachusetts don't have the same legal rights as opposite sex married couples.
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