A federal judge in Riverside, CA, declared the U-S military's ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional yesterday, saying the "don't ask, don't tell" policy violates the First Amendment rights of gays and lesbians.
In her 86-page ruling, U-S District Court Judge Virginia Phillips said the policy banning gays did not preserve military readiness, as many DADT supporters have argued, but instead, evidence shows the policy in fact had a "direct and deleterious effect" on the military.
The case was filed in 2004 by the Log Cabin Republicans, the largest political organization for gays in the GOP.
Phillips said that within a week she would issue an injunction barring the government from enforcing the policy. However, the Department of Justice, which defended the policy during a two-week trial in Riverside, will have the following week to appeal that decision.
The ruling comes amid calls by Pentagon officials to repeal the ban, and promises by President Obama that he will work to do so. It also comes just over a month after a federal judge in San Francisco tossed out California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, and a Massachusetts decision striking down the federal law banning same-sex unions, the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Combined, this provides back-to-back-to-back victories for gay rights advocates seeking policy changes in the courts that have eluded them in Congress and at the ballot box.
The ruling is expected to intensify political pressure in Washington to act on legislation to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," which remains stalled in the Senate despite support from President Obama and the Democratic congressional leadership.
Comments
What a great week for the haters! Now they can spew vitriol about gays AND Muslims!
Just not GAY Muslims!
or even worse...lefthanded GAY Muslims with bad interior decorating sense!
Gays, gay muslims, left-handed gay muslims, decorating impaired muslims and the left-handed judicial system (driven by the left-handed gay muslims) - lg
ahhh, our old arch enemy The LHDIGM!
(i'm sure about 11 people just got insulted by fitting into this category)
"Tolerance is the last virtiue of a depraved society." The real HATERS are the leftist freaks who have no use for blacks, Muslims, gays, or other so-called oppressed groups who they USE as tools to destroy the west and America and turn them into third world cesspools. Whether it's the flood of Muslims in Europe or the millions of illegal invaders from Mexico into the US their goal is to change the west into a hodge podge of third world misfits and a minority white populations. Hmmm it's sure is funny only white nations are regulated to this multicultural phenomenon. Hmmm since so many Jewish Americans have been so supportive of open borders to the west and America why is Israel basically an Apartheid State where it's still illegal for a non-Jew to marry a Jew? Why do Jews preach multiculturalism for the west and America but Israel has whole towns and villages that are segregated? Why is it okay for Japan, China, and all of Asia to remain homogeneous but white European or America must be welcome to all races and cultures even if those people wish to be destructive to our nation or way of life? After all a the definiton of a nation is really a group of people with common ancestory, beliefs, and a common race and the west has been duped by these Trotsky followers who've been out to destroy white culture and the western world whether using gays, blacks, illegal invaders or what have you. Jewish professor Noel Ignatiev, the so-called Reverend Je$$e Jack$on and others have made their hateful wishes known in the past. Hmm so looks like we know who the real haters are don't we, and who the real hypocrites are too.
Hmm forgot to add that Christian missionaries are routinely attacked and spat on in Israel. AlsoIsrael routinely continues to torture Palestinian Christians and Muslims even women and children, and exactly how tolerant and loving would the Arabic world be to an influx of Christians, white or black muslims from the west, or even atheists to their nation. The whole idea is without solidarity or cohesiveness a nation will be weakened and eventually destroyed and this has been proven over and over throughout history. Try to float this multicultural crap over into a productive first world nation like Japan and see how long they buy into this crapola you would be kicked out in a New York minute guaranteed.
Another good experiment or a great reality check would be for all these phony suburban limo liberals who live in their gated white communities to have to take their kids out of their all-white private schools and enroll them in an inner-city public school that are about 98% black. That way their kids could find out about true prejudice, bigotry, and hate. For the adults let's take them out of their office job with Biff and Skippy and place them in the joint (that's prison for you out of touch liberals) celling with Skillet and Onion Head Jones to share some love and forced physical relationships. Or perhaps maybe we could send them to the Arabic country of their choice, or even the Far East to see how welcoming the rest of the world is to strangers.
@Anon of the last three post -
Just how do you even find a reason to get out of bed in the morning? -lg
Why should he bother? Judging by his comments, it's hard to imagine anyone who'd want to associate with him. --Bruce
did he miss anybody?...I think he insulted just about everybody except lefthanded GAY Muslims with bad interior decorating sense...you have to admit that the guy is pretty thorough in his hate, he don't leave nobody out.
Ask your wife ahole I usually leave her sleeping and dreaming you don't exist.
lg sounds like the typical phony @ss liberal whom I speaking of. Lemme guess you live in a state like Vermont or Oregon and your hero is Phil Donahue. And Brucie is a poor man's Geraldo Rivera. teehee seems Geraldo is a registered republican and well Brucie is probably a registered nobody. walrus well he's the only one of you three dumbbells that even remotely has an ounce of realism left.
uh walrus I was actually praising Japan and their way of life. The US could stand to learn a lot by emulating Japan's homogeneous culture instead of becoming Brazil. Oh I know at least you went to government school aka public school instead of private school like Brucie and his PAL lg.
"Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society" Almost right. Some attribute the quote to Aristotle others to the evangelist D. James Kennedy. Tolerance means to tolerate which reduces value of an individual. When we tolerate others we do not value them; therefore, tolerance precedes a dying society. I actually agree wholeheartedly with this philosophy. In society when the majority demeans any group we lose value of the collective, ie society. While this is a quote that many use to promote a world view of intolerance - that view is totally off point.
We are becoming a society of haters and many who preach tolerance are indeed engaged in de-valuing certain groups and individuals but some of the "phony @ss liberals" actually promote the notion of celebrating our differences to make society stronger. I contend that those are the true liberals - those open to different ideas, different cultures, and lifestyles, recognizing the opportunity to learn and grow as individuals and as a people.
As far as your presumptions about me personally; they are so far off base as to be laughable.
As far as linking Bruce and me as somehow the same is equally laughable. The main thing that we have in common is our impatience with people who refuse to use their brains to arrive at a conclusion. We have no fundamental understanding of why people would choose to check their brain at the door before they choose to speak. Talking points are not dialog. The shot-gun approach of spewing hatred because you heard those words from someone you respected are equally offensive. (These are observations and I apologize for presuming to speak for Bruce)
I am a product of a public education and I live in one of the "Reddest" states in the country. I am not wealthy and live paycheck to paycheck as do most Americans. I go to a Protestant church every Sunday and believe that the Reformation spoke to my ability to interpret the scriptures using the brain that God gave me with guidance from the Holy Spirit. We own at least 15 guns and regularly shoot them. I am a liberal in that I am open-minded to change and as with most people my views are different from subject to subject - they are not driven by any political affiliation.
Now Mr/Ms Anonymous - Who are YOU? - lg
Most of the anonymous comments, lg, are made by a single person. You can tell from the writing style, and the website's moderators can tell from his URL. He does this not just here but all over the site. He's typical of the kind of vituperative cretin that lurks on the web, posting insults and invective commentary without ever saying very much, doing so, he thinks, under the cloak of anonymity granted by the internet. Were he forced to register comments using his real name (something the website is considering), he would never appear on these pages again. That alone says pretty much everything that needs to be said about his character. His response to such observation would be to pen yet another nasty screed, no doubt in furious two-finger fashion, thinking himself brilliant in the process, but most readers see him for what he is. He is an audience of one. No one with any intellect cedes him any credibility, nor should they; he has never demonstrated that he deserves it. --Bruce
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