I’d heard about this case a while back and never thought anything would come of it but apparently something has. Besides this one article I don’t have much info but figure I’d get the ball rolling.
To me this is an issue that should be settled already. A majority of Americans support the repeal and during the last presidential election both candidates endorsed a repeal.
The House already took up a repeal and passed it. This should have been a simple issue for our useless senate to vote on and move through. But as usual it seems they couldn’t do their jobs and left the heavy lifting to the courts.
I await reading the ruling, but feel the court shouldn’t be determining military policy and am curious to how such a ruling will be implemented.
It was ruled by Judge Virginia A. Phillips that the constitutional right of gays and lesbians were being violated. Makes perfect sense. Why did it take so long?
So are you saying that the military need not comply with the First Amendment? Because that seems to be part of the basis for the ruling - that DADT restricts the free speech of gays and lesbians concerning their sexual orientation.
If the Constitution can override the government, then it sure as hell can override the military. Keep in mind, the former is a legitimate source of power in the country – the latter emphatically is not.
It should never have gone to the courts. While I personally am not a fan of dont ask dont tell, the better process would have been to let OSD get rid of it (at political direction, of course). I don’t see this as a constitutional issue, either 1st amendment or due process, which was the other argument they made…restrictions on speech happen all the time as a condition of employment.
The Justice Dept seems like it just rolled over and mailed it in, in fact. I wonder if that was Obama’s strategy? Just put up a completely braindead case to let some California judge take the arrows in the back for the administration?
I mean, WTF? To me, it looks like Obama took the pussy way out by letting Holder take a dive instead of standing up for what he supposedly believed in.
It’s true that the court shouldn’t determine military policy, but at the same time, it has the responsibility to determine how the Constitution guarantees the rights of military members.
That’s true, actually. Military personnel can be disciplined or even discharged for criticizing the President, an act that is wholeheartedly protected by the First Amendment when done by civilians.
At the same time, military members are not completely bereft of any constitutional protections. Just as caselaw has grown up to determine the extent of constitutional protections for civilians, so, too, has a body of caselaw developed for those in the military, attempting to strike a balance between the deference due military leaders and the basic guarantees the constitution should provide.
I agree that the best case would be for Congress to repeal DADT. This opinion lays out a shocking series of stories of abuse, harassment, and lost talent that the military has created by DADT.
But I also believe that the case is made for a constitutional violation, because the evidence produced directly refuted the claims that gay members hurt military readiness, cohesion, or any other aspect of the military’s prime mission. Particularly devastating:
I’m willing to give a great deal of deference to the military (and to Congress), but given that this is not rational basis analysis (see Witt) the government has to explain that away before they can defend DADT.
Whether or not McCain was against it depended on the wording and the day of the week and what he had for lunch. Most recently he wasagainst it and has said he would resist the repeal if it was ordered.
The most infuriating thing is that McCain has done just as much as Obama to overturn it. And the most infuriating thing about that is it makes me have to say “Thank you Log Cabin Republicans” without sarcasm.
Mr Smashy seems to be arguing that Obama or Obama appointees ordered the AUSAs who were representing the government to take a dive, since the case finally went to trial in July 2010.
So, until early 2009 the government attorneys were chomping at the bit with a killer case they had spent the last five years preparing to support DADT and then Obama came in and said shred the lot of it, take a dive?
For the last time Obama’s not a Muslim, he’s a he’s an African Liberation theologist under the Svengaliesque sway of Jeremiah Wright. He can time travel though.
I suppose you then have proof that he was not a muslim before he went back in time to become “an African Liberation theologist under the Svengaliesque sway of Jeremiah Wright.”
Edit: So has anyone heard if the Justice Dept. is going to appeal?
I’m just going by what they said in that right wing rag, the Washington Post. The writer makes it sound like the Government didn’t even present a case as part of the defense of the law/rule.
It’s just a guess, but it fits the facts. We know Obama is against the rule. We know he hates the military. We know he hates America. And we know he’s a pussy… :rolleyes:
I expect them to appeal. They will do anything they can to drag it out till after the elections at this point. While the administration may have interest in letting the ruling go into effect, as proven with other issues like DOMA, they would much rather defend vigorously defend the existing law and effectively ‘punch the hippy’ then give the right another issue to flail them with.
If by some miracle this motivates the Senate to do their job and bring the bill to the floor I’d be tickled pink, but I just don’t see it happening. That would imply the Democrats would actual stand up for the gay community they hit up any time they need votes. They never seem to deliver to the gay community when needed however.
Like this case. When it came to fighting for the rights of gays. How sad is it that the leadership was actually delivering for the gay community is Republican. Prop 8 repeal though a team effort in my opinion it was Olson, the Republican that made it happen, now with the DADT repeal the gay Republican lobby has delivered. It would be nice to see the main recipients(Democrats) of gay dollars deliver in a similar fashion.
Even the best lawyers can’t make a great case when they’re tasked with defending bullshit. They’ve certainly been putting effort into delaying the ruling. It’s been 6 years now. Given the circumstances they are doing pretty well.