More good news. Though Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has technically been repealed, as we all know, there has been an injunction in place essentially preserving the ban while the military prepares for the policy change. The Ninth Circuit has put a stop to that, and the Pentagon says they’ll comply with the court order:
Even with Obama’s support for ending the 18-year-old policy, Obama’s justice department asked the appeals court to keep the injunction in place to give the military more time to prepare for admitting gay soldiers.
On Wednesday, a three judge-panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals noted that the process of repealing DADT is now “well under way”.
The government “can no longer satisfy the demanding standard” to keep the injunction on hold, the court ruled.
The Pentagon said it was still studying the ruling, but added it would comply with the court order.
Dave Lapan, a military spokesperson, said the US military was immediately taking “steps to inform the field of this order.
Step by step, the discriminatory institutions are falling away. It’s always nice when the courts give the administration a little nudge, though.
UPDATE: Predictably, the self-loathing gay wingnut part of the internet has found a reason to hate this victory, as there is no victory for LGBT rights that they are ever truly happy about.
