Log Cabin Repubs. Pursue DADT Lawsuit

The LGBT advocacy group urged a federal appeals court to continue reviewing its case against DADT despite the law’s congressional repeal

Opponents of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” on Monday returned to court to continue their lawsuit against the anti-gay policy even after Congress repealed the law in late December.

LGBT advocacy group the Log Cabin Republicans, whose suit last year resulted in a landmark ruling by a federal judge that declared DADT unconstitutional, urged the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to proceed with its review of the case challenging the law.

“Although a bill to repeal the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ statute has been passed and signed by the president, this legislative ‘repeal’ is not yet effective,” the Log Cabin Republicans wrote, referring to stipulations in the DADT repeal bill that state the policy’s repeal is not complete until implementation procedures are developed—and that, for now, gay and lesbian soldiers who come out can still be investigated and discharged from the military, and openly gay people may not enlist.

The repeal legislation, signed into law by President Obama in a watershed moment of his presidency on Dec. 18, grants the Pentagon and unspecified amount of time to prepare for the implementation of the lifting of the ban.

 

 


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