Court Ends Log Cabin's Case Against DADT

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to end the Log Cabin Republicans' challenge to the federal government over "don't ask, don't tell."

The organization filed the suit to repeal the ban on gays in the military in 2004. In 2010 a district court judge ruled that "don't ask, don't tell" was unconstitutional, and the case advanced toward the Ninth Circuit, but thereafter, Congress and President Obama repealed the law, and the military trained the ranks on sexual harassment and sexual orientation.

The San Francisco court said in September that the case is moot because the law was overturned, and Wednesday the court said none of its judges wanted to vote on rehearing the case, as requested by the Log Cabin Republicans, according to the Associated Press.

The organization wanted the case to continue, as there have been some threats to reinstate "don't ask, don't tell" after President Obama's term in office ends, or with a new Congress. Additionally, Log Cabin wanted to continue challenging the law because several affiliated benefits for members of the military are being blocked due to the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing the marriages and civil unions of gay citizens, specifically gay service members.

Log Cabin executive director R. Clarke Cooper said the court's decision clashes with its duty to "defend the constitutional rights of service members." He added, "Log Cabin Republicans will continue to fight for uniform treatment of all servicemembers, in Congress and in the court of public opinion, including working to end the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, which wrongly discriminates against military families."