Why Does "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Still Exist?

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

Why Does "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Still Exist?
posted with permission from http://sane-ramblings.blogspot.com/2010/10/why-does-dont-ask-dont-tell-still-exist.html

President Obama has promised numerous times to get rid of "don't ask, don't tell," which is U.S. military discrimination against gay people but has not done so. Yet as Commander-in-Chief, he has the authority to end it immediately.

Instead, he now speaks of getting rid of it some day. But while he equivocates, U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips ruled that the policy is discriminatory, violates the U.S. Constitution and directed it be ended, something Mr. Obama should have done.

Then came a major irony. Under President Obama, the Justice Dept. filed a motion for the judge to set aside her decision as it appeals to a higher court claiming that to end this discrimination would "irreparably harm our military and the national security of the United States."

Meanwhile, President Obama spoke at a Town Hall meeting on Thursday (10/14) and claimed as usual he would end this 17-year-old discriminatory policy. But then he said, "this is not a situation where I can, by the stroke of a pen, end this policy."

Nonsense. On July 31, 1948 President Truman ended U.S. military racial segregation with the stroke of a pen with Executive Order No. 9981. Segregation was wrong then and it is wrong now.

Mr. Obama must find the courage to act, just as in 1948 another President found the courage to end racial discrimination. He shouldn't need Judge Virginia Phillips to do it for him.

note: The author feels the President needs to act to end DADT, others feel the US Congress needs to act and others feel the Supreme Court is the solution...Me? I'm confused.

[jaxx]

1. One more time.....Military segregation was not a law, it was a policy.

DADT is a federal law. It was voted on and signed into law. In order to make it go away it has to be repealed by vote and signed into law by the president.

This is not Harry Truman changing military policy. This is repealing a law.

[joeybee12]

3. One more time...the law has been found unconstitutional...it no longer exists...

unless someone decides to appeal.

[jaxx]

5. Unless another court decides it is constitutional and sets it back up.

This is why the law has to be repealed. It is the only way that someone can't come along and reinstate DADT once the law is repealed.

[donco6]

14. Unless they pass another law.

Right? Isn't that just as likely as someone picking up the appeal?

If we left it alone, and gays were allowed to begin serving openly, it'll all become moot pretty quickly. That would be the best course of action.

[Cleobulus]

15. That makes no sense, Congress doesn't pass laws that are impossible to repeal...

even the repeal can be repealed by a future Congress, what makes you think it would be repeal proof?

[sharp_stick]

13. I'm sure the supreme court would back you up on that

With the current population of the Supreme Court I'd put the odds on them upholding this ruling at about 10%. That would imply the votes of Kennedy (quite possible) and Alito (not quite so possible). Thomas, Scalia, Roberts, not a chance in hell.

The only way to get rid of DADT once and for all is to have it repealed.

[donco6]

4. A law that's been ruled unconstitutional.

Don't forget.

[VMI Dem]

2. It is dead right now. The Obama admin is trying to resurrect it.

[jaxx]

8. The Obama adm is trying to kill it forever....by repealing the law.

I don't know why people find this so foreign to believe.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

6. It's no wonder I'm confused. nt

[jaxx]

9. It's confusing when people tell you it is just kaput and that's the end of it.

It isn't. The congress has to repeal the law.

[Deep13]

7. Short answer: cuz its gawd's werd!

:(

[jaxx]

10. More like it's because the nuts took gawds words and twisted

them into evangelical homophobic baloney.

[Deep13]

12. Well if by "God's word" they mean the Christian Bible...

...it really is in there, at least as far as male homosexuality goes. My own feeling is not so much that they are reading the Bible incorrectly as it is that the bible is simply not a good source of ethics or morality.

Anyway, I spelled it the way I did because I was referencing the TV preacher con artists.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

11. Republicans (and two Dems) prevented an up-or-down vote

on legislation that would've given President Obama a free hand to officially end the policy, something that he can't unilaterally do himself at this time. :shrug:

Clinton's attempt 17 years ago to simply end it with a stroke of pen is what ultimately gave us DADT, which was arguably better I suppose than Congress writing a full fledged BAN into law- although DADT has not proven to be particularly effective in preventing the military from "asking" even when gay and service members haven't been "telling". :banghead:

[Initech]

16. Why do we have DADT in the first place?

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

17. Even if one grants President Obama can't overrule a Congressional law by issuing an Executive Order,

...Judge Phillips has now done it for him ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," as discriminatory and Unconstitutional.

All President Obama needs to do is direct the Justice Dept. not to file and appeal, and then issue and Executive Order just as Harry Truman did in 1948 with military racial discrimination.