SF Court Reinstates Don't Ask Don't Tell

The federal appeals court in San Francisco has ruled the military should resume its "don't ask, don't tell" policy, for now.   The legal order suspends a lower judge's ruling until next week, according to the Chronicle.

That is exactly what the Obama Administration had asked for and in the timeline it requested. The appeal was filed Wednesday morning with the ruling coming in the afternoon.  

The ruling is the latest in a legal back and forth that started when a federal judge in Riverside declared "don't ask don't tell" unconstitutional following a trial brought by Log Cabin Republicans.  That group argued successfully that don't ask don't tell should be overturned on the grounds that it was discriminatory and violated homosexuals’ rights to due process and freedom of speech guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Administration lawyers said leaving the ruling in place, "would create tremendous uncertainty about the status of servicemembers who may reveal their sexual orientation in reliance on the district court's decision and injunction," in their appeals filing in San Francisco.

Don't ask don't tell was put into place under the Clinton Administation.  It says gays may serve but only if they keep secret their sexual orientation.
     
Government lawyers sought to suspend the ruling while appeals were pending, arguing that it would pose a major problem for the military. They said it could encourage service members to reveal their sexual orientation before the issue is fully decided. 
     
Officials who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity said the administration has never fully acknowledged that while a majority of Americans may want the ban lifted, a majority of the uniformed military might not.