It ain't over till........ 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. -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
