One of the lead attorneys fighting California's Proposition 8, former U.S. solicitor general Ted Olson, says the federal government should not defend "don't ask, don't tell" in court."It happens every once in a while at the federal level when the solicitor general, on behalf of the U.S., will confess error or decline to defend a law," said Olson, who served as solicitor general under George W. Bush, according to ABC News. "I don't know what is going through the [Obama] administration's thought process on 'don't ask, don't tell.' It would be appropriate for them to say 'the law has been deemed unconstitutional, we are not going to seek further review of that.'"
While President Barack Obama has stated his desire to repeal the law that bars gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, the Department of Justice has vehemently fought the lawsuit by the Log Cabin Republicans challenging the policy.
In the latest for this trial, the U.S. court of appeals for the ninth circuit has blocked district court judge Virginia Phillips's injunction to stop enforcement of "don't ask, don't tell." In August, Phillips ruled the policy unconstitutional.
A three-judge panel ordered a stay requested by the Justice Department "temporarily in order to provide this court with an opportunity to consider fully the issues presented" in the federal lawsuit against DADT, waged by Log Cabin since 2004.
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