Log Cabin Republicans Challenge “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy
In Log Cabin Republicans v. United States, the organization challenged the constitutionality of the Pentagon’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, under which the military would not ask about sexual orientation, and homosexuals would be allowed to serve in the military as long as they did not mention their sexual orientation.
The Log Cabin Republicans are an organization of lesbian and gay Republicans, working within the Republican Party to advocate for lesbian and gay rights. The group operates in the face of hostility from the vast majority of GOP leaders who have been beholden to the Religious Right in opposition to lesbian and gay rights.
In early September 2010 a U.S. District Court declared the DADT policy an unconstitutional violation of the First and Fifth Amendments. But on this day, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the decision on the grounds that the legislative repeal of DADT, in December 2010, rendered the case moot. As a consequence, the District Court decision had no value as legal precedent.
President Barack Obama signed the DADT repeal act into law on the 22nd of December 2010, and the repeal took effect on September 20, 2011.
Learn more about the Log Cabin Republicans: http://www.logcabin.org/
Read about the history of lesbians and gays in the military: Randy Shilts, Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. Military (1993)
Learn more at a timeline on lesbians and gays in the military: http://www.usni.org/news-and-features/dont-ask-dont-tell/timeline
Read the Log Cabin Republicans’ statement on “Fairness for All” here