“We were bitterly disappointed that the brief filed yesterday by the Justice Department in the Log Cabin Republicans’ case restates at length policy arguments that are inconsistent with where the leadership of this country is today, and where the American people are on open service,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of SLDN. “The lengthy quotations from then-JCS Chairman Colin Powell were particularly unfortunate and ironic in light of his recent statement that it was now time to change the policy. As SLDN argued in the Cook v. Gates challenge in 2004, ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ lacks any rational, important, or compelling basis, and serves no legitimate government or military interest.
“SLDN understands the Justice Department’s role in defending the constitutionality of federal laws, even ones with which its leaders do not agree. Therefore, we would not expect that their legal briefs on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ would read anything like the recent statements of President Obama, Secretary Gates or Admiral Mullen on that subject. However, there continues to be a big and unnecessary disconnect between what DOJ files in court and what the Presidents says on Capitol Hill and to his top DOD leadership team.
“When Congress comes back next month the White House should make it clear that repeal of DADT this year is a top priority for President Obama. One sure way to send that clear signal is for the President to include repeal language in his defense budget bill going up to Capitol Hill in a few short weeks. The President’s defense budget repeal language should mirror the words in his State of the Union speech to Congress and the American people.”
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (www.sldn.org) is a national, non-profit legal services and policy organization dedicated to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” A journalists’ guide is available here.