http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/10/13/pentagon-mulls-stance-on-dont-ask-ruling-spokeswoman-nothi/
On the morning after a federal judge banned the military from
enforcing its "Don't ask, don't tell'' policy against gays and
lesbians, the Pentagon is hunkered down defensively behind its thick
limestone walls, trying to figure out what to do next.
It has left spokeswoman Cynthia Smith the guidance to say that
"nothing has changed'' and "we are working with the Justice
Department'' to figure out next steps. The Obama administration has 60
days to appeal Tuesday's ruling by District Court Judge Virginia
Phillips, who found the Defense Department's enforcement of the 1993
ban on gays in the military is unconstitutional.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is traveling in Asia, has endorsed
repeal of the law banning gays and lesbians from military service. But
he has pleaded with lawmakers not to change the law at least until
December, when a Pentagon study on how to implement repeal will be
finished.
The ruling and the Pentagon's response has left the troops in a state
of uncertainty: Does the Pentagon's policy of discharging service
members who openly acknowledge being gay or lesbian still hold? Or is
that trumped by Judge Phillip's order?
One of the nation's largest organizations for gay and lesbian military
personnel, Service Members Legal Defense Fund, advised that "service
members must proceed safely and should not come out at this time''
because of uncertainty about whether the military would immediately
halt investigations and discharges of openly gay and lesbian troops.
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