9th Circuit Court Of Appeals Denies Department Of Justice To Suspend Log Cabin Republicans’ Lawsuit Challenging Constitutional Validity Of Military Gay Ban

Friday, the 9th United States Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco issued an order requiring the Department of Justice to file papers by February 25th arguing why the court should overturn a Southern California trial judge who ruled that the military policy prohibiting openly gay service personal unconstitutional, the ruling Friday thereby denying a government request to suspend the lawsuit, reports the Associated Press. Government attorneys had asked the 9th Circuit Court earlier in January to suspend the case since the Pentagon was moving towards completing the steps Congress outlined in December when it voted to repeal the ban. The appeals court offered no explanation in its order as to why it rejected the request. The Log Cabin Republicans, the gay political group whose lawsuit challenging the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy convinced District Judge Virginia Phillips in September, 2010 to enjoin the military from enforcing the policy, has opposed the government’s effort to suspend the case. Saturday, R. Clarke Cooper, the group’s president, said he believes the Pentagon’s attempts to repeal are sincere, but argues the case should continue as long as gay service members can still be discharged. "We said all along to the government we would drop our case if they would cease all discharges and remove all barriers to open service," Cooper said. An Army reserve officer, Cooper said he knew of at least one service member facing a discharge hearing next month, even as the Pentagon moves forward with its training plan. "We are not questioning the implementation process. We recognize the need for a deliberative process for implementing proper training materials and guidances for leadership," he said. "But when you have a service member going before a discharge panel, this is kind of a 'left hand-right hand' thing that is happening."