Obama Justice Department Weighs Appeal in 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Case

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2010— -- The ruling by a federal judge in California that the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy is unconstitutional has put the Obama administration in a political bind, caught between a duty to defend established law and a promise to have the law overturned.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips ruled Thursday that the policy violates the rights of gays and lesbians, and harms military readiness and unit cohesion. And she said she plans to issue a permanent injunction barring the military from enforcing the policy in about two weeks.

Phillips has asked both sides to weigh in on the injunction and asked the government to indicate whether it plans to appeal.

The Justice Department, which has been defending the law, has not indicated how it will proceed. Government lawyers are reviewing the decision.

President Obama has previously called the ban on openly gay and lesbian service members a "discriminatory policy" and pledged that ending it would be a promise "that this administration is going to keep."

But he has also said that only Congress has the power to repeal the law and, until it does, he is bound to defend it in court.

Justice Department lawyers defended "don't ask don't tell" before Judge Phillips when the case went to trial in July, but they appeared merely to go through the motions, calling no witnesses or offering up other evidence for its defense and arguing only that Congress should decide on policy rather than a court.

"It'll be an interesting decision for our president to decide whether to appeal this case," the plaintiffs' attorney, Dan Woods, told AP. "He's said that 'don't ask, don't tell' weakens national security, and now it's been declared unconstitutional. If he does appeal, we're going to fight like heck."

The House voted in May to conditionally repeal the policy as part of a vote on a defense spending bill. The Senate has yet to consider the measure but a vote could come this year.

"This is on a list of items that we could consider this upcoming work period. We will need Republican cooperation to do so," said Regan Lachapelle, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

And although several top military officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Mike Mullen, have endorsed a repeal, Pentagon officials insist that the policy remains in effect as long as it is law.