A federal judge in California has issued an injunction that essentially stops the Pentagon from enforcing its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in its tracks. In the Oct. 12 ruling, Judge Virginia A. Phillips of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California declared that the policy violates Fifth Amendment rights to free speech. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” allows the Pentagon to bar homosexuals from military service, but allows persons to keep information about their private lives confidential. The same day Phillips issued her ruling, a Pentagon spokesperson said the department is weighing its options. The Pentagon could ask the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to delay implementation of the order until a final ruling on the case – Log Cabin Republicans v. U.S. – is rendered.
