The 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals in San Francisco has denied the government's request to
suspend a legal challenge to “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” the
17-year-old law that bans gay and bisexual troops from serving
openly.
In a ruling issued Friday, the court
ordered the Obama administration to file further arguments by
February 25.
The Department of Justice has appealed
U.S.
District Judge Virginia Phillips' September ruling striking down
the law as unconstitutional. Following her ruling, Phillips issued
an injunction ordering the government to stop enforcement of the law,
but the appeals court set the ruling aside after 8 days, and the
policy returned.
Congress approved repeal of the law
last month, but the policy remains in effect until 60 days after the
president and top Pentagon officials certify that the military is
ready for the change.
Military
officials on Friday said ending the ban by the end of the year was a
reachable “goal” and emphasized that the policy remains in
effect.
The Log Cabin Republicans, the gay GOP
group behind the legal challenge, had opposed the department's effort
to put the case on hold.
“We said all along to the government
we would drop our case if they would cease all discharges and remove
all barriers to open service,” R. Clarke Cooper, the group's
president, told the AP.