The Obama Administration will reportedly “likely” appeal the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to block the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, according to a Washington Blade source.
The Blade’s source says that an appeal is likely, though it’s unclear when it will be announced. “DOJ is likely going to SCOTUS to appeal the injunction again,” the source told Chris Johnson. “We don’t know when, but that’s the sense we’re getting.”
On Monday, the Ninth Circuit ordered to Obama Administration to state whether it would continue to defend the policy in court.
According to the AP, the court said that the Department of Justice has ten days to respond to the order, and if it does not plan to appeal, “it must report that to Congress, and let the court know whether that will happen in time for Congress to intervene if it chooses to do so.”
Last week, the Ninth Circuit ordered the federal government to stop enforcing the policy, which prevents openly gay men and women from serving in the military. A lower court judge ruled in October that DADT is unconstitutional, but the government was granted a stay in lifting the policy. Last Wednesday the panel lifted the stay.
In response, the Pentagon sent out a memo suspending the policy, and said it would also begin accepting openly gay and lesbian recruits.
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