Breaking: United States District Judge Virginia Phillips Issues Immediate Injunction Barring Further Enforcement Of Military Ban On Openly Gay Service Members; Department Of Justice Has Sixty Days To Appeal

Breaking news from MSNBC: United States District Judge Virginia Phillips has issued a worldwide injunction barring the enforcement of the American military policy prohibiting openly gay service members, effectively ending the 17 year old ban known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.” The United States Department of Justice have sixty days to appeal, legal experts saying that the DOJ is under no legal obligations to do so and that they – and by extension the Obama administration – could simply let Judge Phillips ruling stand. Phillips declared the law unconstitutional on September 9th after a two-week trial brought by the Log Cabin Republicans in a federal court in Riverside, California. Dan Woods, an attorney for the Log Cabin Republicans, said of today’s ruling “The order represents a complete and total victory for the Log Cabin Republicans and reaffirms the constitutional rights of gays and lesbians in the military for fighting and dying for our country,” adding that the Obama administration should be seizing the opportunity to allow a judge do what politicians have been unable to accomplish.