Oral arguments scheduled for "don't ask, don't tell" court challenge

Oral arguments have been scheduled for Friday, July 8, in the case of Cook vs. Rumsfeld, a constitutional court challenge to the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gay service members. The suit was filed by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network on December 6 in the Massachusetts district court. Judge George A. O'Toole Jr. will hear arguments regarding the government's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, filed on behalf of 12 former service members discharged under the military's ban on openly gay personnel. The SLDN lawsuit asserts that "'don't ask, don't tell' punishes gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members for their sexual orientation as well as for their private, constitutionally protected conduct. As a result, it has denied and continues to deny them several constitutional rights, including the right of privacy, equal protection of the law, and freedom of speech."