Last week a federal court ruled that the Pentagon had to stop enforcing DADT (though military recruiters are still turning away openly gay recruits). Yesterday the same court issued an order “requiring the U.S. government to state whether it will continue to defend the policy’s constitutionality in court.” Sadly, the White House has no idea what it’s gonna do…
When asked about if the White House supports the court’s ruling, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, “The Justice Department is reviewing the order, and I think I would point you to them for further information.” My prediction: the DOJ will wait until next Friday to make its decision (Fridays make the perfect political news dumps, just like when the Department of Justice issued that 31-page history of the government’s discrimination against queers; they did that on a Friday—queer blogs cheered, no one else seemed to notice).
Hush, hush, right B.O.?
It’s unlikely that House Speaker John Boehner’s Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) will come in and defend DADT seeing as its primary function is to defend DOMA (good luck with that, fellas).
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
No matter the White House’s decision, the 9th Circuit court that issued the countdown also has an August 29th hearing scheduled to consider whether the government’s appeal of the lower court’s decision striking down DADT is valid. Think Progress thinks the president will defend it.
Gotta love the red tape.
Steve
“Oh God, what to do? What to do? This decision is so difficult!
On the one hand, I can say we keep DADT and further perpetuate the fallacy that gay men are nothing but sissy-faggots who don’t even know how to fight or how to hold a gun and that lesbians are so butch they’ll rape all other women.
Or, on the other hand, I can do the right thing and repeal a law that has been increasingly unpopular since 9/11.”
Nick
One of the main reasons I got out of the Marine Corps was because of DA/DT. It was such a lame law(?) that denied me the ability to, at least, have a more fulfilling military experience, that I just got out after 4 years. There are many parts of me that still think I should have been enlisted for 8 or 12 years, but that is neither here nor there. Hell, at least I got to travel the world and defend my country.
randy
Good for you Nick! And thanks for doing that.
Cam
There is a simple choice. Right or Wrong. This isn’t some nuanced B.S. that needs to be examined and hidden.
Erik
This fight is over and done. A few more months and DADT will be history anyway. I think most analysts predicted the certification process would take 6-12 months. Log Cabin is just wasting their money by continuing to litigate this case. It’s not needed.
Armand
[le sigh] Obama for 2012.
Cam
@Erik: said…
“This fight is over and done. A few more months and DADT will be history anyway. I think most analysts predicted the certification process would take 6-12 months. Log Cabin is just wasting their money by continuing to litigate this case. It’s not needed.”
______________________
The lawsuit is one of the things that forced their hand in the first place. Congress was told that if they didn’t repeal it and the courts did, then the govt. would be liable for damages if sued.
Additionally, if the Congress strikes it down, then they can reinstitute it if the GOP takes over. If the courts strike it down, then Congress cannot bring it back.
mikenola
couple of things here.
First, despite Queertys assertion that BLAG won’t get involved, it remains a specter in this case. If DOJ does not appeal then Congress, either the house or senate, can stand in on the case. Usually that falls to the House of Representatives but either can technically do it. This is a Damocles Sword hanging over Obama, orchestrated once again by TeaBaggers.
If BLAG jumps in and appeals to SCOTUS and SCOTUS accepts they could potentially rule that DADT is actually Constitutional. If that happens the ramifications are HUGE for LGBT court cases heading to SCOTUS. It would also allow the haters to amp up the efforts to slow down/block the repeal of DADT and or repeal the repeal of DADT.
If DOJ intervenes at this point, they can do so with a similar document as the 31 page pleading they put before the 9th. That document basically said that the U.S. government has engaged in systematic homophobia for decades at the whim of religious fanatics who have controlled members of the house and senate at different times.
That will block any attempt by BLAG and the haters in the House from getting involved and will also hand us a victory in one of two ways.
One way is that by the time SCOTUS hears the case the certification will have already occurred. The case then becomes moot. This also leaves any decision on DOMA out of the equation.
The other way this would hand us a victory is if Obama pushes the certification to moot the need to even submit to SCOTUS. Politically from the LGBT viewpoint that would be his smartest option, giving us what we want. It will also take a toll in Blue Dog Democrats potential votes for Presidents.
Personally I live in NOLA, and Louisiana is one of the breeding grounds for Blue Dogs. I can tell you from personal experience that all stripes of Democrats here, black, gay, hispanic, female, etc. don’t like Obama and if you look at our current crop of elected officials you will see that an alarming number have switched to Republican just to stay in power. That is because of the bigoted districts they represent.
Here it is on the surface about why the whites don’t like Obama, and many of the Blacks too. It is because he is black, plain and simple. It appalls me every time I hear one of those morons say “the N****R has no business being President. The have drunk the “Red Drank” as our locals say, and buy into the whole teabagger/blue dog idiocy and racism.
Erik
@Cam: That’s never going to happen because the certification will occur long before the case could reach the Supreme Court. To say that this case forced anyone’s hand is laughable. Repealing DADT was in the Democratic Party platform. All Democratic Senators present voted for the repeal and 235 of 250 Democrats in the House voted for repeal. Nobody’s hand was “forced.”
Cam
@Erik: said..
“@Cam: That’s never going to happen because the certification will occur long before the case could reach the Supreme Court. To say that this case forced anyone’s hand is laughable. ”
____________________
The fact that the case was heading to the court is one of the things that forced the origional votes. I know that the HRC line is to pretend that nothing outside their dinner parties has any effect, but when the SEc. of Defense informs Congress that getting a verdict in court repealing DADT would be dangerous rather than them repealing it themselves, trying to pretend that that doesn’t have an effect is idiotic.
The fact is, if the govt. doesn’t appeal this won’t go to the Supream court and the case is settled with DADT being struck down. Even if the certification happens, the fact that it could still be reinstituted could be enough to keep it in court. Additionally, the Supreme Court could refuse to take the case, leaving the current verdict as valid. The conservatives on the court would be nervous that Kennedy would side for repeal and not want that decision to come down from the highest courts.