News

Log Cabin Republicans Legal Case Leads to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal Certification

July 22, 2011

(Washington, DC) - Log Cabin Republicans respond as the president, Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff submit certification that the United States military is ready and able to implement open service.

"Log Cabin Republicans are proud to have helped put an end to 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' It is our hope that the clear precedent established in federal court that will ensure an absolute end to this unconstitutional law," said R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director, a combat veteran and captain in the United States Army Reserve. "Log Cabin Republicans fought this archaic policy on many fronts, from working with the Pentagon's Comprehensive Working Group which showed servicemembers were unopposed to the change, to securing the needed Republican votes in Congress for repeal, as well as bringing the legal case before the Ninth Circuit which should declare 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' unconstitutional. It has been a long campaign, but victory is in sight at last."

Log Cabin Republicans have maintained a three-front strategy against 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' lobbying for repeal in Congress, consulting with the Department of Defense, and filing suit in federal court. The case went to trial in July of 2010, and the Ninth Circuit Court ruled on September 9, 2010 that the policy violated the First Amendment and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution.