Obama administration appeals another DADT ruling (Margaret Witt)

[ruggerson]

The Obama administration is appealing another court case that found unconstitutional a discharge under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Justice Department filed a formal notice that it is appealing the ruling of a federal judge in Washington state that required the reinstatement of Maj. Margaret Witt, an Air Force flight nurse who was kicked out under the ban on openly gay service members. U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton found that the military had not shown that getting rid of Witt would advance unit cohesion.

Moments after the filing, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement stressing that the legal move should not be seen as at odds with President Barack Obama's desire to repeal "don't ask, don't tell."

“Today, the Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal in a case involving a legal challenge to the don’t ask, don’t tell (DADT) policy, as the department traditionally does when acts of Congress have been held unconstitutional," Gibbs wrote. "This filing in no way diminishes the president’s — and his administration’s — firm commitment to achieving a legislative repeal of DADT this year. Indeed, it clearly shows why Congress must act to end this misguided policy. In recent weeks, the president and other administration officials have been working with the Senate to move forward with the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, including a repeal of DADT, during the lame duck."

http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/1110/Obama_administration_appeals_another_dont_ask_ruling.html

[RKP5637]

1. Frustrating ... n/t

[XemaSab]

2. WTF?

:shrug:

[xchrom]

3. The 'admin' is doing it for our good, I'm sure.

Sarcasm.

[ruggerson]

4. The "He has to enforce DADT" crowd

has been thankfully silenced by the news that the Pentagon has revised the manner in which DADT is enforced, essentially neutering it.

Something we said Obama could do all along.

[bliss_eternal]

5. kicking

so this gets more attention...

kick