BREAKING NEWS: Federal judge orders military to stop discharging gays

[Lochloosa]

Source: msn

Breaking

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39625809/ns/world_news-americas/?gt1=43001

[xchrom]

1. Recommend -- Ruh-Roh. Nt

[YOY]

66. It was those meddlin' kids again!!!

n/t

[pinboy3niner]

2. Here's the gist:

Judge orders military to stop discharging gays
Landmark ruling says government's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy must end

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A federal judge Tuesday ordered the government to immediately stop discharges of gay service members under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips found the policy unconstitutional in September. On Tuesday, she rejected an Obama administration request to delay an injunction and ordered enforcement of the policy permanently stopped.

The Justice Department has 60 days to appeal. Legal experts say the government is under no legal obligation to do so and they could let Phillips' ruling stand.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39637073/ns/us_news-life/


K&R

[Bette Noir]

6. Now it's our turn.

I've already emailed the President, expressing a hope that the Administration not appeal. I reminded him that he was elected to support everyone's rights, not just those of the majority.

As a holy man once said, "Go thou and do likewise."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

[pinboy3niner]

12. Exactly--now it's our turn

This ruling gives the President a great opportunity. Ordering DoJ NOT to appeal is the best thing he can do. And he needs to hear that message loud and clear. :thumbsup:

[Mosby]

15. +1

[pinboy3niner]

28. The Courage Campaign rushed out a petition to DOJ on this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9303802

[Enthusiast]

53. Plus one.

Great idea.

[Celtic Merlin]

55. DONE !!!

And I thank you sincerely for the convenient link, which I used to ask the President to direct the DOJ to *NOT* challenge the injunction issued by Judge Phillips thereby ending DADT once and for all. This homophobic policy was wrong the day it went into effect. If the DOJ doesn't appeal within 60 days, DADT will be dead. Let's start a countdown . . .

59!

Celtic Merlin
Carlinist

[CLANG]

59. If this is unconstitutional, isn't all other gay discrimination unconstitutional?

This could be a big fucking deal!

[grahamhgreen]

63. !

[NorthCarolina]

3. My guess this ruling will be challenged by the administration.

Just a hunch mind you...hope I'm wrong.

[rhett o rick]

4. Now it's up to Pres Obama. He didnt put pressure on the Senate but he can now kill DADT by himself.

[totodeinhere]

5. I applaud the ruling. Bit it's disgusting that it was some Republicans that brought this suit

and accomplished it. Where were the Democrats on this issue? We have a Democratic president and big majorities in Congress, yet who got DADT overturned? It was the Log Cabin Republicans.

[speppin]

9. Yes, the irony is so clear.

[dixiegrrrrl]

33. So is the timing.

The Obama Administration is now set up as the fall guy if DOJ DOES appeal.

[MadMaddie]

13. I don't believe that the Democratic party didn't want to do anything

I believe that President Obama "WANTED" it to go to the courts. This would leave no doubt about the law being unconstitutional. If he would have made a signature change to the law it could be undone by a Republican signature.

I am not sure what the Log Cabin Republicans are smoking these days but they need to keep smoking it...maybe one day they will realize that it was their party who pushed the law into effect.

[rocktivity]

32. DING DING DING! MadMaddie, you're our grand prize winner!

I believe that President Obama WANTED it to go to the courts: This would leave no doubt about the law being unconstitutional.

Exactly--therefore, the Rethugs can't "blame" it on him. All he can do now is sigh, "I fought the law, and the law won." CUE THE VONAGE THEME!

:woohoo:
rocktivity

[demigoddess]

37. doesn't letting it go through the courts make it more permanent??

that's what I thought. more permanent that a presidential order/

[liberation]

39. See, there is your problem...

... following Occam and his razor when analyzing n-dimensional chess moves.

[MadMaddie]

72. Exactly!

[Tx4obama]

14. 59 in the Senate was not enough, we needed 60. n/t

[liberation]

38. I take 60 is the new 50+1

[24601]

42. New? Think back to the Congress after the 2002 elections. For

a starter all the tax cuts would have been permanent. Then let your imagination take over.

[awoke_in_2003]

44. change the filibuster rules...

back to the way they were- make the pukes do a real, true filibuster. We can change that rule, but won't. It would be the perfect way to make the repubs show their ass, but we keep giving it to them softly. They might break after a couple of days of reading phone books on the floor.

[awoke_in_2003]

46. oh, and it didn't take...

59 to get Civil Rights legislation passed.

[hedgehog]

23. The Democrats were trying to keep this issue out of the Congressional races.

The Republicans brought the suit not to end DADT, but to scare all the voters at the thought of their sons catching the gay.

[totodeinhere]

24. That's an interesting take. I hadn't thought of that, but now that you

mention it it does sound like something they would do.

[Smashcut]

26. This suit was brought by a gay group.

They are actually trying to get this thing struck down.

If Democrats were able to project a clear moral vision in favor of equality, and to do what it takes to get there, there would be no need to "keep this out of the congressional races." Why is that even a legitimate excuse?

The fact that the plaintiffs here are gay Republicans is less a sign of their ulterior motives than of the embarrassment straight Democrats should feel for having done so little on this issue.

[readmoreoften]

43. +1. Nail-hammer: mucho gusto.

[Jamastiene]

69. I wish this was an OP of its own

so I could REC it and kick it until everyone has seen it.

VERY well said. :applause:

[Solly Mack]

7. k/r

[Tx4obama]

8. The best strategy is for Congress to vote on the repeal.

The PERMANENT repeal of DADT is in the Defense Appropriations bill which the democrats tried to get a vote on a couple of weeks ago but the republicans blocked cloture.
Congress will have it back on the agenda again and WILL vote before the end of the year.
I am really tired of folks that say that Obama and Congress aren't doing anything.
Obama and Congress ARE working on this issue in a way that will make the repeal of DADT PERMANENT - why can't people see that fact!

[zipplewrath]

57. Because that isn't what the law says

Read the law they are working on. It authorizes the DoD to change or repeal DADT once they establish that it doesn't negatively affect their effectiveness. It's basically authorizing the Fox to guard the hen house, or not....

[Mosby]

10. K and R

[Odin2005]

11. WOOT!

[Ian David]

16. This is the first time The Log Cabin Republicans ever did something useful with their lives. n/t

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

17. Let's see how they deal with the hysterical howling from "their" party that's sure to follow. -nt

[Mosby]

18. +1

[readmoreoften]

45. +1

Maybe the Democrats have gone so far to the right that they're to the right of the g-d Log Cabin Republicans... Scary thought.

[VMI Dem]

19. Someone here told me this suit only covered LCR members.

:shrug:

[msanthrope]

22. well, it does...and that's going to be the basis of successful appeal.

The LCR only sued on behalf of their membership. They asked for an extention of associational standing as part of remedy.

The judge granted a RO extending standing.

That extention of standing will be challenged up and down the appellate courts, since it has very far-reaching implications outside this ruling....

[baldguy]

20. NYT

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/10/12/us/AP-US-Gays-in-Military.html?_r=1&fabulous

[fascisthunter]

21. weird to think the powers to be actually care who dies

on the battle field. Look what they are being sent to die for.... this whole issue has irony all over it.

...fucking dumb people with an agenda to deny what is natural in men and women.

[MannyGoldstein]

25. Good to see that some in government have moral courage!

Obama will appeal - it is his nature.

[readmoreoften]

54. No, he'll get an injunction to examine the effects of the injunction.

When you walk on the fence, funny how people always fall to the right.

[derby378]

27. Wow...

I'm a little fuzzy on this, but I thought civilian courts didn't have any jurisdiction over the military. That's one reason why the EPA has been legally forbidden from entering the Area 51 site in Nevada to investigate a toxic waste dump.

But if the judge has Constitutional authority to make this stick, it's about damn time. :bounce:

[Moonwalk]

47. American soldiers are still Americans and still entitled to their....

...constitutional rights, like Freedom of Religion, so long as this doesn't interfere with their doing their jobs as a soldiers. If the Military had been able to prove that this was like making soldiers keep military secrets, meaning that they weren't allowed freedom of speech in this instance because it would hurt the military, then the military would have won the case. When a soldier signs up for the military he does give up certain rights in order to do the job and not compromise the military, but this has to be for the good of the job and the military. Otherwise, he gets to keep his rights, like practicing the religion of his choice. And having freedom of speech.

The military couldn't prove that denying someone's freedom of speech in this instance was important to the military. After all, the gay soldier was serving just fine, how did his exercising his freedom of speech and saying he was gay change things? Did it hurt the military like telling a military secret would? Did it keep him from being a good soldier?

Hence, the Military lost. Remember, this is a Federal Judge, meaning her job is to investigate cases that have to do with people's constitutional rights. The military has no court that does that. Anything having to do with a violation of constitutional rights always goes to a Federal court, including those instances having to do with the military. And if the Federal court rules against the military, then the military has to comply.

[TeaBagsAreForCups]

29. Yet another opportunity for our "Progressive" President...

... and his DOJ to appeal and knock down in their fervent support and defense of those in the LBTG community and those members of that community that continue to defend our country.

[UndertheOcean]

30. GOOD !!!!

[barbtries]

31. happy news

[mvd]

34. K&R; this is a step towards equality for all

Now I hope President Obama respects the ruling. After all, he said he wants DADT removed.

[pinto]

35. LA Times has this - Breaking: Judge's injunction halts 'don't ask, don't tell'

Los Angeles Times | Oct. 12, 2010 | 12:40 p.m.

A federal judge has issued a nationwide injunction stopping enforcement of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, ending the military's 17-year-old ban on openly gay service members.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips' landmark ruling issued today was widely cheered by gay rights organizations that credited her with accomplishing what President Obama and Washington politics could not.

U.S. Department of Justice attorneys have 60 days to appeal. Legal experts say they are under no legal obligation to do so and they could let Phillips' ruling stand.

[underpants]

36. Of course, the government can't discriminate which is why the Repubs hate the government

but we all know that.

[Jefferson23]

40. This is great news. Just to let you know Lochloosa, your link is to the rescue of the crew in Chile.

Must of changed the headlines on ya.

[defendandprotect]

41. About time someone was on the side of homosexuals -- !!!

[boppers]

48. URL is about Chile...

..?

edit:
Found it under:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39637073/ns/us_news-life/

[HughMoran]

49. Massive K&R!!

Great news! :thumbsup:

[laughingliberal]

50. k & r n/t

[James48]

51. FULL TEXT OF JUDGES RULING

now posted here:

http://networkedblogs.com/93oeC

[southmost]

52. hope this leads to better news

k&r

[bdamomma]

56. finally good for that judge

[BreweryYardRat]

58. EXCELLENT. n/t

[Heidi]

60. Recommended.

:kick:

[myrna minx]

61. K&R n/t

[Le Taz Hot]

62. The moment of truth for this administration.

This is very much akin to the IWR vote for me. It's do or die time.

[grahamhgreen]

64. If they appeal, they suck.

[Politicub]

65. Awesome. And, I haven't seen the free speech angle before

but it makes perfect sense.

:bounce:

[lonestarnot]

67. Yes!

[pleah]

68. K&R

[Jamastiene]

70. If only our fierce advocate will abide by the ruling

and not try to fight it. If he will only do the right thing...

[RedCloud]

71. So Obama admin, Get off dead ass now! Don't wait any longer. No review. Hell no!

[Shining Jack]

73. That's a step in the right direction.

A really small one if nobody does a thing to give this momentum.