DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL’ RE-INSTATED

The ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ rollercoaster continues with a court reinstating the military ban on gay service members just days after it was suspended.

Following an urgent application by the US government, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco issued a temporary order on Wednesday allowing the military to continue to enforce the law.

The court reinstated the law at least until February when it will consider the full appeal on the matter.

Last week, District Judge Virginia A. Phillips ordered an injunction that suspended and discontinued any investigations or discharges under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’.

The new ruling is also expected to suspend the Pentagon’s order on Tuesday to allow openly gay people to apply to serve in the military.

“This interim temporary stay means that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is once again on the books, and is likely to be enforced by the Defence Department,” commented army veteran and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis.

“Gay and lesbian service members deserve better treatment than they are getting with this ruling. We now must look to the Senate next month in the lame duck session to bring about the swift certainty needed here and to repeal this unjust law that serves no useful purpose,” he said.

The Obama administration supports the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ but only through lawmakers ending the policy in Congress and not through the courts. Analysts believe that this is unlikely to happen this year, as promised by the President.