The Ninth Circuit Appeals Court that put the decision ordering the military to stop enforcing "Don't Ask Don't Tell" on hold is a brief win for the government. But don't assume it means the policy will survive: The stay just means that the judges want time to think.
U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips's order that the government stop enforcing the unconstitutional Don't Ask Don't Tell law has generated much chatter on both sides of the debate. But it's worth looking beyond the noise to the actual reasoning in her ruling.
The end of "don't ask, don't tell" is long overdue. Going to war -- or even sitting in an office creating policy for warriors -- while in possession of a damning secret is a liability so huge, it's a stupid policy indeed that sets soldiers up for such a dilemma.