U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips has ruled that the current military ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional. The judge has said she will issue an order to stop the practice nationwide.
According to msnbc.com:
U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips said the ban violates the First Amendment rights of gays and lesbians. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” prohibits the military from asking about the sexual orientation of service members but requires discharge of those who acknowledge being gay or are discovered engaging in homosexual activity, even in the privacy of their own homes off base.
In her ruling, Phillips said the policy doesn’t help military readiness and instead has a “direct and deleterious effect” on the armed services.
The Log Cabin Republicans, a 19,000 member group of predominantly gay Republicans sought the lawsuit in 2004. Judge Phillips will issue an injunction later on in the week. More than 13,500 members of the military have been drummed out since it was first enacted in 1994. It is unknown what will happen to those people.
President Clinton had hoped to permit gays in the military. As soon as he became president Congress fought him tooth and nail and a compromise of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was reached. Many gays felt Clinton had sold them out. The political reality was that had Clinton pushed his agenda through, he might have been faced with more restrictions like a bill that outlawed gays in the military.
