Log Cabin Republicans' 'Don't Ask' lawsuit heading to court
Sun. July 4, 2010 7:32 AM by GoPride.com News Staff
Lawsuit was filed six years ago
Riverside, Calif. -
Six years ago, the Log Cabin Republicans filed a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over the country's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
And on July 13, the group will finally get a chance to argue their case in a California courtroom.
Attorneys for the Log Cabin Republicans say that people have a constitutional right to live a gay lifestyle, so the military violates that right every time it discharges someone who is gay.
Government lawyers see the legal questions differently. From their perspective, the question is whether members of Congress behaved "rationally" when they approved the policy.
A lot has changed in the six years since the lawsuit was filed, with the Obama administration now working on ways to repeal DADT. Still, government lawyers will be in court, vigorously defending the existing policy.
"There is a certain irony," Log Cabin lawyer Dan Woods told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. "While the president has promised to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, he has his Justice Department lawyers fighting us every step of the way."
"The department cannot pick and choose which federal laws it will defend based on any one administration's policy preferences," Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said.
And on July 13, the group will finally get a chance to argue their case in a California courtroom.
Attorneys for the Log Cabin Republicans say that people have a constitutional right to live a gay lifestyle, so the military violates that right every time it discharges someone who is gay.
Government lawyers see the legal questions differently. From their perspective, the question is whether members of Congress behaved "rationally" when they approved the policy.
A lot has changed in the six years since the lawsuit was filed, with the Obama administration now working on ways to repeal DADT. Still, government lawyers will be in court, vigorously defending the existing policy.
"There is a certain irony," Log Cabin lawyer Dan Woods told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. "While the president has promised to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, he has his Justice Department lawyers fighting us every step of the way."
"The department cannot pick and choose which federal laws it will defend based on any one administration's policy preferences," Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said.