The struggle over the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) continues today after a federal appeals court stayed the order ending enforcement of the policy by a California judge last week. Thus, DADT is back in effect just days after the Pentagon announced that it will accept openly gay recruits, reports the New York Times. On October 12, US District Court Judge Virginia Phillips issued an order that bans the Department of Defense and the US military from enforcing the policy, which bars gays from openly serving in the military. Phillips wrote that DADT “infringes the fundamental rights of United States service members and prospective service members” and ordered the military to immediately drop any pending investigations or proceedings. In response, the US Department of Justice filed an appeal and requested that Phillips put a stay on the order, stating that any immediate shift in policy would be “enormously disruptive and time-consuming, particularly at a time when this nation is involved in combat operations overseas.” The federal appeals court action today resulted from Phillips’ refusal to put a stay on her order. President Obama has repeatedly emphasized his opposition to DADT, saying last Thursday, “this policy will end and it will end on my watch.” According to Stars and Stripes, the President insists that Congress needs to repeal the 1993 law.
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