Log Cabin Republicans File Brief Opposing DOJ's Request for Stay of DADT Injunction

The legal battle continues in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States as a brief is filed by the Log Cabin Republicans' lead counsel, Daniel Woods, asking the 9th Circuit to lift it's stay of the injunction banning discharges under DADT. Lambda Legal has also filed an amicus brief in support of the LCR brief. Woods notes that the government's motion does not show that the government is likely to prevail on the merits of the appeal. Nor does it even attempt to refute the fact that the constitutional rights of current and prospective gay and lesbian service members will continue to be violated during any stay. Indeed, the DOJ's request for a permanent stay of the injunction underscores the lie being disseminated by the White House that the Liar-in-Chief supports DADT repeal. Here is a highlight from the LCR brief (the full brief is here):
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"With the injunction in place, nothing will change with regard to the composition of the military, the training, promotion, demotion, and deployment of servicemembers, the mission and operations of the armed forces, or anything else that pertains to the important governmental interest that the military serves. The evidence at trial showed that homosexual men and women already serve today; they are deployed to theaters of combat when needed – indeed, retained overall in greater numbers during times of combat – even if they are openly homosexual; it is their discharge, not their presence, that if anything impacts morale and good order."
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A press release from Lambda Legal states in part as follows:
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Lambda Legal's amicus brief argues that DADT takes a heavy toll on lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) service members, forcing them to live in constant fear of being discovered. But its influence extends far off American military bases: "DADT is nothing short of a public pronouncement by the federal government that discrimination against LGB people is acceptable, that LGB people are inferior to heterosexual people, and that being lesbian, gay or bisexual is a shameful trait that ought to be concealed." The brief also argues that DADT's discriminatory message is particularly damaging to lesbian, gay and bisexual youth, as exemplified by the surge of recently reported teen suicides caused by antigay bullying. "The government cannot plausibly claim that its actions are unrelated to such tragedies and abuses, so long as it remains the nation's leading model for open discrimination against LGB people."