Riverside Federal Judge May Rule On ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Enforcement Today

A federal judge who halted the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for gays may decide Monday whether to permit its enforcement pending an appeal.

Judge Virginia Phillips in Riverside issued an injunction against enforcing the 17-year-old policy last week in a lawsuit filed by a gay rights group.

However, the Department of Justice has asked the judge to stay the ruling while it prepares an appeal. It asked Phillips to issue her decision by Monday.

This afternoon, Judge Phillips will hear arguments over whether to stay her permanent injunction against the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

Attorneys for the Log Cabin Republicans, which brought the lawsuit challenging DADT, want the injunction imposed. If so, it would bring an immediate halt to efforts to discharge openly homosexual service members.

Justice Department attorney Paul Freeborne opined last week that implementing the injunction would pose “serious” problems that could disrupt military operations worldwide.

Under the 1993 law, the military cannot inquire into service members’ sexual orientation and punish them for it as long as they keep it to themselves.

The military has promised to abide by the judge’s injunction as long as it remains in place.

President Obama has said he wants the law repealed in Congress, rather than addressed in a court.