In light of congressional repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” signed into law by President Barack Obama last week, the Justice Department is now seeking to suspend its appeal in the Log Cabin Republicans’ longstanding federal lawsuit against the policy.
In a late Wednesday filing to the U.S. court of appeals for the ninth circuit, Justice Department attorneys wrote that the “orderly” terms of repealing DADT as set forth by the law will likely obviate the government’s appeal in the case.
But Log Cabin Republicans executive director R. Clarke Cooper called the motion a stall tactic that would delay the government’s opening brief in the appeal due January 24. “The DOJ can hardly argue now that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is constitutional,” Cooper told The Advocate. “The government is trying to avoid an embarrassing situation, and it ignores the fact that the military remains free to discharge personnel.”
Dan Woods, lead attorney for the Log Cabin Republicans, told The Advocate following the repeal bill signing ceremony last week that he would not agree to suspend the suit, given that “don’t ask, don’t tell” technically remains in effect. “[U]nless the government agrees not to discharge any more service members, our lawsuit is alive and kicking," Woods said.
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