The timing could not have been worse for Democrats heading into the midterm elections.Gay activists are livid over the thought that the Obama administration would consider appealing the DADT and has filed an injunction asking for a stay pending appeal of the recent ruling.
If the stay is not granted, the DOJ plans to file for a stay with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The issue is heating up at the worst possible time for Democrats because as liberals get angrier at Barack Obama, the enthusiasm to vote for any Democrats lags even more than it is already lagging, which is down double digits already compared to GOP enthusiasm among likely voters.
LA Times reports:
The Justice Department is expected to appeal Judge Virginia Phillips' order overturning the law and halting all Defense Department proceedings aimed at discharging gay and lesbian personnel. Last month, government lawyers cited a number of legal opinions in a brief that warned the judge against issuing an order that went beyond the handful of plaintiffs who sued in her court.
The last paragraph of the article also gives hint to some of the "Pentagon task force charged with examining the issue is "well along" in formulating recommendations...." :
The task force found deep resistance to the idea of repealing the law in some elements of the armed services, especially within the combat units, an officer familiar with the findings said. But the surveys also have found segments of the military who were not overly worried about allowing gays and lesbians to serve, the officer said.
Gay activists are not happy with the Obama administration right now after another article, from the NYT, reports that evidently the military isn't complying with the judge's ruling.
With a briefcase full of commendations under his arm, Omar Lopez walked into an Austin, Tex., recruiting office Wednesday. Mr. Lopez, 29, had served nearly five years in the Navy. He was honorably discharged in 2006 for “homosexual admission,” according to documents he carried. He wanted to re-enlist.
But recruiters turned him away hastily, saying they had no knowledge of any injunction or any change in military policy.
Reactions
Unhappy camper #1, AmericaBlog Gay:
Don't let another Obama administration official or apologist - DNC Treasurer Andy Tobias comes to mind - lecture you about how they're being anti-gay in order to uphold the rule of law and be better than Bush, or to save health care reform and the hate crimes law. Those arguments went out the window yesterday when the Obama administration disobeyed a direct order from a federal judge.
Not that we didn't already know this, but President Obama's moral authority is gone.
H/T to TPM, embedded below is the DOJ request for a stay of the DADT injunction.
DOJ Request for Stay of DADT Injunction
In the request, the DOJ says if it doesn't get a stay by noon Pacific Time on Monday, it will file for a stay with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear any potential appeal.
More at Advocate.
Reactions are coming out fast, keep an eye out over at Memeorandum to watch the discussions unfold.
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