Gay Reps Urge Obama to Halt DADT

Congress's three openly gay members, Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, and Jared Polis, have written a letter to President Barack Obama, urging him not to appeal the federal court decision that recently found "don't ask, don't tell" unconstitutional.

The plaintiffs in the case, the Log Cabin Republicans, filed for an injunction on enforcement of the policy after U.S. district court judge Virginia Phillips ruled the 17-year-old law unconstitutional September 9. The Department of Justice is scheduled to file a response to the injunction request Thursday.

"To stay above the rest, to remain the most formidable military force in the world, we must innovate, change and grow," the representatives wrote, according to an early draft acquired by AmericaBlog. "As we update our weaponry and strategy, so too must we open our policy to encourage as much cohesiveness and camaraderie as possible. In the military where lives rely on trust and determination, DADT represents neither."

The Congress members added that abolishing the ban on gays in the military was a top priority.