The Obama Administration Asks The “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Act Not To Be Applied
While waiting for the appeal, the Obama administration asked a federal judge to suspend his ruling that forbids the application of the “Don’t ask don’t tell” law. The act, which exists since 1993, imposes upon gay military to hide their sexual orientation.
On Tuesday, the Californian judge Virginia Philips interdicted the U.S. administration from applying the “Don’t ask don’t tell” law on the ground that it is unconstitutional. In a very brief request, the American Justice Department asked the judge to suspend her ruling during the appeal proceedings or at least while the Court of Appeal should rule over an eventual suspension.
The American president Barack Obama himself opposes this act, which was adopted during Bill Clinton’s administration and asked for it to be abolished during his 2010 state of the Union address. The House of the Representatives accepted his request in May, but on September 21st the Senate refused to open a debate on the subject. Although both the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs, admiral Mike Mullen, expressed their support for Obama’s initiative.
In fact, the American president declared during a live meeting with the teenagers that “the law will be abolished and this will take place during my administration”. When asked about the contradiction between his words and the appeal against the decision which bans the act, Obama explained that there are “rules which must be followed”. “I can’t just ignore the existing laws, I have to work to change them”, he argued.
“Any person who wishes to fight under our flags and sacrifice herself in our name should be able to do it without having to lie about her identity”, Obama added. He also said that, in his opinion, being a homosexual “is not a choice”. “I believe that men are the way they are born and all of us are the children of God”, declared the American president.
The “Don’t ask don’t tell” act was adopted in 1993 during the Clinton administration. At that time it was seen as a compromise: on one hand the authorities did not ask the military about their sexual orientation – and thus were not forced to expel the gay people- and on the other hand, the homosexuals were not forced to hide their sexual orientation. When ruling that the act should no more be applied, judge Philips explained on Tuesday that the law”does not respect the fundamental rights of the American soldiers and it violates their right to an equal application of the law and the right to freedom of speech”. She also forbade the Pentagon to continue any ongoing investigation under the „Don’t ask don’t tell” law.
