US Supreme Court refuses to review 'Don't Ask Don't Tell'

June 8, 6:28 PMInternational LGBT Issues ExaminerKelvin Lynch

Previous Next

Comment Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the International LGBT Issues Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

                          Pillars of justice or politics?

The US Supreme Court denied a request  today to review whether or not 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' is unconstitutional, agreeing with President Obama not to intervene in DADT cases, according to the AP.

The 16 year-old Pentagon policy was a compromise measure signed into law by President Bill Clinton, who had pushed for gays and lesbians to be allowed to serve openly in the US military.  Since its inception, DADT has led to the discharge of nearly 13,000 gay and lesbian soldiers, many of them mission-critical.

DADT has recently been a contentious topic of debate.  President Obama vowed a full repeal during his campaign, but since taking office has backtracked and said he will seek only a partial repeal that strengthens the military.  There is growing anger and impatience with the president over what many view as his broken promises to the LGBT community.

Army Captain James Pietrangelo, who was discharged under DADT in 2004, filed the federal lawsuit against the Pentagon and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and asked the high court to rule on the constitutionality of DADT.  He served six years on the Army, seven years in the National Guard, and fought in the Gulf War in Iraq in 1991. 

Pietrangelo said,

"I think this decision is an absolute travesty of justice and I think every judge on this court should be ashamed of themselves.  It's nothing short of rubber stamping legalized discrimination, the same way Nazi Germany legalized discrimination against Jews. The Supreme Court is not infallible, they get things wrong, and they got it wrong this time.

"We need political agitation, we need to make it a civil rights issue," said Pietrangelo. "Gay America needs to wake up and realize we have no options other than to march on Washington D.C. until America feels enough shame to change something.  What it's going to take is 30 million gay Americans getting off their butts and standing in front of the White House demanding gay equality."

Dennis Veite, executive director of Gays United Network, said, "Today the Supreme Court chose to ignore a law that clearly undermines the very core principles that are instilled in our soldiers and to disregard the LGBT soldiers that have repeatedly risked their lives for this country. Their choice brings into sharp focus a court that favors cowardice, politics and discrimination over it's duty to uphold the Constitution of this country. It is clear that we can no longer depend on the court system to do the right thing. The time to descend on Washington and demand our rights is long past due.  We will no longer accept being treated as second-class citizens."

Scroll down to leave comments.