Disdain for Democracy
Legislators in Long Black Robes
On Tuesday, a federal judge ordered the Pentagon to immediately stop enforcing its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
As one legal scholar put it, the policy has become a “giant game of hot potato.” That may be true, but it’s a potato that the courts have no business grabbing.
The decision was handed down by Judge Phillips in California. She ruled that the policy of the Pentagon violated gay and lesbian service members’ rights to due process, freedom of speech and petitioning the government for redress of grievances.
The Department of Justice now has sixty days to file an appeal. Inasmuch as the president has said that he prefers that the policy be repealed by an act of Congress, rather than by executive order or the courts, logic would suggest that an appeal is forthcoming.
The expectation of an appeal and possible reversal has gay-rights groups warning gay service men and women not to disclose their sexual orientation just yet.
This one time, I hope these groups are right. Reasonable people can and do disagree on the merits of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” What is unreasonable is that a decision this important should be decided by a single unelected judge in Riverside, California.
And now… the rest of the story. …..
Harold
