Judge Rules “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is Unconstitutional

Judge Virginia A. Phillips of Federal District Court in California struck down the 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy as unconstitutional in an 86-page opinion issued on Thursday. According to the New York Times:

“The don’t ask, don’t tell act infringes the fundamental rights of United States service members in many ways,” she wrote. “In order to justify the encroachment on these rights, defendants faced the burden at trial of showing the don’t ask, don’t tell act was necessary to significantly further the government’s important interests in military readiness and unit cohesion. Defendants failed to meet that burden.”

Read: Judge Rules That Military Policy Violates Rights of Gays

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