The Senate is expected to attempt to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” during a post-election, lame-duck session. The House of Representatives approved such legislation with a 234-194 vote in May.

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on November 1 extended its postponement of a federal judge’s suspension of the ban on open homosexuals serving in the military, meaning the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy will remain in effect while the case is under appeal.

The panel of Ninth Circuit judges voted 2-1 to continue indefinitely its Oct. 20 temporary stay of Judge Virginia Phillips’ Oct. 12 ruling that invalidated the 1993 federal law and ordered its enforcement to cease worldwide.

The appellate court’s extension of the stay means homosexuals still may not enlist in the armed forces and may be discharged if they already are in the military. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” as the 17-year-old law is known, prevents homosexuals from serving openly but also prohibits military commanders from asking service members if they are homosexual or about their “sexual orientation.”

Supporters of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” welcomed the decision by what is considered to be the most liberal of the federal appeals courts.

“American citizens should always be grateful when a temporary attack of sanity afflicts the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,” said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. “It is beyond reason to have a judge who never served in the military arbitrarily decide to use our armed forces for the purpose of social engineering.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The source for this document was originally published on bpnews.net—however, the original URL is no longer available.]