Don't Ask, Don't Tell declared unconstittuional
 

Surprised nobody else picked up on this.

(CNN) -- A federal court in Riverside, California, ruled Thursday that the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy -- which bars gay men and lesbians from serving openly -- is unconstitutional.
"Plaintiff has demonstrated it is entitled to the relief sought on behalf of its members, a judicial declaration that the don't ask, don't tell act violates the Fifth and First Amendments, and a permanent injunction barring its enforcement," concluded U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips, a 1999 Clinton appointee.


http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/09/don...t.tell/?hpt=T2

Whoop-dee-doo.....J/K.

The President and the DoD have been plotting the death of DADT for some months now; I do believe that it's going to happen soon. This ruling would have packed a hell of a lot more punch had it come 10 years ago, so what I want to know is why now?

Because a group of Log Cabin Republicans sued the US Government over the rule and it finally got this far. That's why now.

This will probably be overturned.

The 1st Amendment and 5th Amendment do not apply to military personnel.

Once you sign on the line which is dotted, for better, for worse, the federal government owns you.

The LCR has been around since the 1970s, DADT was signed into law 17 years ago and this lawsuit was filed just a few months ago. I am just wondering why they waited til after the President and the Pentagon started planning the DADT repeal. I'm thinking maybe they are just sick of waiting and are trying to speed up the process but I still think they should have done this 10 years ago instead of now when DADT is already on it's deathbed.

Regardless of the reason, I hope this is the beginning of the end. It's just embarrassing how much control the wingnuts have over every aspect of American life and culture.

Uhhhhh...Not really. I see you are in Dubai, are you an ex-pat from the U.S.?

Yes, I'm an expat. And I can tell you what the rest of the world thinks of us. We are hyper-violent, uneducated, religious fundamentalists of the most dangerous sort, and we do not care about our fellow citizens. :(

Is that really what "the world" thinks or is that what you think?

And I can say pretty much say the same about any country in the middle east ;)

"The rest of the world" is a pretty big generalization, don't you think?

I have to say.. though I don't share that opinion , a lot of people (not all but a lot) in europe do feel that way as well...

Not the religious fundamentalist part but the rest of it... pretty much yes...

The Amendments apply to the government though. This judge is saying that they apply to the military. You can regulate an individual soldiers actions - no sex on the battlefield, no disrespecting a superior officer, whatever - because of the need to maintain discipline, but you can't argue that mentioning your girlfriend/boyfriend back home is harmful to discipline just because that person is of the same sex. And the judge in fact found it was harmful to discipline.

And, you don't lose all of your first or any amendment rights as a soldier. The military cannot prohibit you from practicing your religion for example. Military personnel also have a right to due process even if that comes in a different form than civilian court procedures.

It might have something to do with the fact that we had two ongoing wars at the time with low recruitment numbers and forced prolonged commitments by current military personnel all the while the military is systematically kicking out trained soldiers with valuable skills just because they happen to be gay. Yeah, that might be a good reason.

LOL.

With all the rush stories floating around, I keep reading this thread title as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Recruitment."

The judge said that the precedent set by Lawrence v. Texas was key. Also this article says it was the first time the law was challenged on its face.
Article focused on the Judge