Republicans vs. the military: can Log Cabin's court challenge to the military's gay ban succeed in a time of war?In a move that surprised many legal advocates, lawyers for the gay political group Log Cabin Republicans The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is a federated gay and lesbian political organization in the United States with state chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C. The group consists of gays and lesbians who are supporters of the Republican Party. on October 12 filed a federal challenge to the military s ban on openly gay service members, claiming that it violates their constitutional rights. But is this the right time? Log Cabin log cabin or log house, style of home typical of the American pioneer on the Western frontier of the United States in the great westward expansion after 1765. It was constructed with few tools, usually an axe or an adz and an auger. executive director Patrick Guerriero Patrick Guerriero is an American politician. A gay Republican, Guerriero was the executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) from January 1, 2003 to September 1, 2006. called the lawsuit against the "don't ask, don't tell" policy "an unprecedented opportunity" given a number of recent and supportive court rulings, including the Supreme Court's pro-gay decision in Lawrence v. Texas The Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S., 123 S.Ct. 2472, 156 L.Ed.2d 508 (2003), striking down state Sodomy laws as applied to gays and lesbians. last year. "We believe this particular case is something we should undertake," Guerriero said, noting that the powerful law firm of White and Case is representing his group. But the courts are reluctant to demand changes in military policy when the armed services The Constitution authorizes Congress to raise, support, and regulate armed services for the national defense. The President of the United States is commander in chief of all the branches of the services and has ultimate control over most military matters. are staging major offensives, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Tobias Barrington Wolff, a University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis, commonly known as UC Davis, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, and was established as the University Farm in 1905. , law professor and expert on "don't ask, don't tell." "Even though the policy is unconstitutional, you are asking the federal judiciary to step in at the moment when it is most difficult for them to do so," he argued. "Winning on an issue like this requires collaboration with people in the field who have expertise." For Patricia M. Logue, senior counsel at the gay rights group Lambda Legal, the issue is not whether Log Cabin should have filed the suit but rather what it does to build consensus with other groups from this point forward. "The most important thing we ask of anyone is that they do it in consultation," she said, "and Log Cabin seems to be reaching out at this point." C. Dixon Osburn, executive director for the Service members Legal Defense Network, which has been in the forefront of the battle against the military ban, said Log Cabin should have reached out in his organization sooner. "We've been pretty up-front that we plan to file [our own] suit by the end of the year," Osburn said. "It is the Log Cabin suit that comes as a surprise." Guerriero's response was that after the suit was filed, "Dixon was the very first call I made. We have been in consultation with everyone. This is a community effort." Shortly after Log Cabin's announcement, SLDN SLDN Service Members Legal Defense Network released an Urban Institute report estimating that 65,000 gays and lesbians are serving in the military. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion