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The military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy — which bars openly gay men and women from serving in the military — was ruled unconstitutional by a judge in Riverside, Calif., Thursday. The lawsuit, brought by the Log Cabin Republicans, argued that the policy violated the First and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and the judge agreed, ordering a permanent injunction against the policy.
The Department of Justice has seven days to appeal the ruling.
In the decision (pdf), U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips wrote:
The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Act infringes the fundamental rights of United States servicemembers in many ways, some described above. The Act denies homosexuals serving in the Armed Forces the right to enjoy “intimate conduct” in their personal relationships. The Act denies them the right to speak about their loved ones while serving their country in uniform; it punishes them with discharge for writing a personal letter, in a foreign language, to a person of the same sex with whom they shared an intimate relationship before entering military service; it discharges them for including information in a personal communication from which an unauthorized reader might discern their homosexuality. In order to justify the encroachment on these rights, Defendants faced the burden at trial of showing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Act was necessary to significantly further the Government’s important interests in military readiness and unit cohesion. Defendants failed to meet that burden. Thus, Plaintiff, on behalf of its members, is entitled to judgment in its favor on the first claim in its First Amended Complaint for violation of the substantive due process rights guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment.
A range of groups, including some that oppose same-sex marriage, hailed the decision.
“Today’s ruling is not just a victory for the LGBT community, but for our military, our security, and for U.S. taxpayers,” Courage Campaign founder Rick Jacobs said. “Asking soldiers to lie about who they are destroys the trust on which an effective fighting force is reliant, and discrimination of any kind undermines the values that generations of Americans–including LGBT Americans–have fought and died to defend. It is our hope that the Senate will act quickly to repeal this failed policy, so that we can avoid a lengthy and costly appeals process, and get on with the business of ensuring all patriotic Americans are able to serve our country with honor and dignity.”
The Log Cabin Republicans filed the lawsuit in Oct. 2004, and it went to trial in July 2010. Executive director R. Clarke Cooper praised the ruling.
“As an American, a veteran and an Army reserve officer, I am proud the court ruled that the arcane Don’t Ask Don’t Tell statute violates the Constitution,” he said. “Today, the ruling is not just a win for Log Cabin Republican servicemembers, but all American servicemembers.”
Chad Griffin of the American Foundation for Equal Rights said:
“Today’s court decision declaring Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell unconstitutional is yet another significant and long-overdue step toward full equality for all Americans. Along with the recent federal court decisions on DOMA and Proposition 8, it is clear that our nation is moving toward the day when every American will be treated equally under the law, as is required by our Constitution.”
Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United and a former U.S. Army interrogator, was the only plaintiff named in the case. He was discharged under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
“This is an historic moment and an historic ruling for the gay military community and for the readiness and integrity of our Armed Forces,” he said. “As the only named injured party in this case, I am exceedingly proud to have been able to represent all who have been impacted and had their lives ruined by this blatantly unconstitutional policy. We are finally on our way to vindication.”
Other groups also reacted to the decision. The Human Rights Campaign released this statement:
“Today a federal judge affirmed what the vast majority of the American people know to be true – that it’s time for the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law to be sent to the dustbin of history. With this legal victory in hand, Congress is right now in a perfect position to strengthen our national security by ending a law that has discharged thousands of capable service members. With House passage already secured, the Senate can and should vote in the next few weeks to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and allow every qualified man and woman the chance to serve with honor.”
And the Stonewall Democrats:
“Today’s Federal court decision calling the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy unconstitutional on grounds that it violates gay military members’ rights to free speech, due process and open association is another nail in the coffin of the policy. We’re glad that the Federal court agrees with President Obama’s position: that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell needs to come to an end. Our Senators need to hear from their constituents demanding repeal. We also call on Senate Republicans to rise above the obstructionism they’ve been playing at for months and let a vote happen on what the vast majority of Americans want: repeal of DADT.”
And perhaps surprisingly, the National Organization for Marriage, a group opposed to relationship rights for same-sex couples, released these tweets:
“#DADT has nothing to do with the tradition of marriage between a man and a woman and everything to do with citizens’ rights.”
And:
“There is no need to prohibit gays and lesbians from openly serving in the Armed Forces. They should have the opportunity to serve.”
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