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Supreme Court Lets "Don't Ask Don't Tell" Stand ... For Now

The Supreme Court has declined to intervene in ongoing federal court review of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The Court has rejected a request from the Log Cabin Republicans to vacate the stay of an injunction barring enforcement of the military's ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

SCOTUS Blog:

The Supreme Court, without noting any dissent, agreed on Friday to leave the military’s “don’t ask/don’t tell” policy in full effect while its constitutionality is under review in a lower court. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy referred the issue to the full Court. Justice Elena Kagan took no part in the order.

As a result of the order, the policy will remain in effect at least through mid-March, unless Congress in the meantime voted to repeal it legislatively — an unlikely prospect, according to most observers. The Ninth Circuit Court is reviewing a federal judge’s decision to strike down the policy and to impose a worldwide ban on its enforcement. The Circuit Court’s briefing schedule, however, will not be completed until late February or early March, and a hearing and decision would come after that.

The policy was lifted for eight days in October after U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips issued a landmark ruling when she declared the 1993 law violates the First and Fifth Amendment rights of gay and lesbians. The Obama Administration asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate the ban until it could hear arguments on the broader constitutional issues next year.

SCOTUS Blog notes that it was "a significant development" that Justice Elena Kagan did not take part in the court's consideration of the issue. Kagan served as the Obama Administration's Solicitor General before her confirmation in August. Kagan argued several DADT-related cases before SCOTUS and her recusal "raised the prospect that, when the constitutional challenge reached the Supreme Court, the Justices might split 4-4 on it."

WATCH: Elena Kagan Sworn In As Supreme Court Justice

Elena Kagan was sworn in as the nation's 112th Supreme Court Justice by Chief Justice John Roberts. Kagan becomes only the fourth woman to serve on the Supreme Court. This also becomes the first time that three women served simultaneously.

The Senate approved the nomination of Kagan, who served as U.S. solicitor general under President Obama, in a 63-37 vote last Thursday. Kagan's confirmation hearings in late June were notable in that conservative and anti-gay senators questioned the former Harvard Law School dean about her opposition to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", which she unequivocally reiterated.

Good luck to Justice Kagan. Watch the ceremony WHEN YOU JUMP

READ: Episcopal Bishop Slams GOP for Thurgood Marshall Attacks

During the opening of last week's confirmation hearings on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, a number of right-wing Republican senators attacked Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first black member of the Court and the legendary former NAACP lawyer behind the Brown vs Board of Education decision. Kagan served as a law clerk for the iconic jurist and praised his record.

Thurgood Mashall was recently sainted by the Episcopal Church. The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane, Bishop of Washington, responds to the Republican attacks on one its saints:

Not often is a saint of the Episcopal Church attacked in the chambers of the United States Senate, but incredibly, it has happened this week. As we prepare to celebrate our cherished American values of equality and justice on Independence Day, we must also rise to defend Justice Thurgood Marshall, an Episcopalian who embodied those ideals.

Marshall is an Episcopal saint. He was the first African American to become a justice of the United States Supreme Court and was the lawyer for the plaintiffs in the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education case that struck down the institutional racism of segregated public schools. He was also a man of deep religious principles. Last summer, the Episcopal Church voted to include him in our book of saints, calledHoly Women, Holy Men. May 17, the day of the Brown vs. Board decision, is his feast.

During his years in Washington, Justice Marshall and his family belonged to St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, where his widow, Sissy, is still an active member. On behalf of all Episcopalians in the Diocese of Washington, I extend to her my sympathy for the hurtful remarks made this week about her late husband. Let me assure Mrs. Marshall and all Episcopalians that our church is resolute in our gratitude for and admiration of Justice Marshall’s legacy, and we pray that we may all receive his exceptional grace and courage to speak the truth.

The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane D.D.

Bishop of Washington

Tom Coburn, the extreme anti-gay Oklahoma Republican, said he had  "no idea" whether he would have voted to confirm Marshall.

Dana Milbank at The Washington Post notes that since Kagan has not yet been confirmed, Republicans "still have time to make cases against Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Gandhi."

WATCH: Kagan Asked About Gay Marriage, Twilight's Edward v Jacob

Day 3 of the Elena Kagan confirmation hearings. The Supreme Court nominee was asked by socially conservative and anti-gay Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley if marriage "is a question reserved for the states to decide." Kagan declined to comment.

Minnesota's Sen. Amy Klobuchar also posed a question on the "famous case of Edward vs. Jacob, or, the vampire vs. the werewolf." "I wish you wouldn't," Kagan laughed.

As if there's any contest. Watch both clips WHEN YOU JUMP ...

WATCH: Kagan "Opposes" the "Unwise" "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Earlier we mentioned that Alabama's conservative and anti-gay Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions asked Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" at the morning confirmation hearings. Kagan was unequivocal and flatly said, "I do oppose the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. ... I have repeatedly said that. It's unwise and unjust."

It's rare and refreshing to hear that candor from a Supreme Court nominee. Watch the video clip AFTER THE JUMP ...

WATCH LIVE: Elena Kagan Supreme Court Nomination Hearings

Today is Day 2 of the confirmation hearings on Elena Kagan's Supreme Court nomination to the Supreme Court.

Watch the hearings live WHEN YOU JUMP ...

This morning began with Alabama's conservative and anti-gay Republican Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III questioning Kagan about military recruitment controversy on Harvard Law School's campus while she served as dean, reports CBS News.

"'The military had full access to our students at all times before I became dean and after,' Kagan said, trying to explain the history of the situation. Kagan clarifies, "I do oppose the don't ask don't tell policy, and I did then.She said that as dean, she tried to make sure recruiters had access to students while also protecting the school's anti-discrimination policy as well as its gay students. Sessions responded, 'You couldn't do both, as it became clear as time went on.' Responding to a charge from Sessions that Harvard may have been out of compliance with the law in its change in military recruiting policy, Kagan said, 'We were never out of compliance with the law.'"

If confirmed, Elena Kagan would become the fourth woman to serve on the Supreme Court. This would become the first time that three women served simultaneously.

Watch the hearings live WHEN YOU JUMP ...

Does Elena Kagan Believe Religious Freedom Trumps Anti-LGBT Discrimination Laws?

Gay City News' Duncan Osborne points to a 1996 memo written by then-Associate White House Counsel Elena Kagan when she worked in the Clinton Administration. The memo urged President Clinton and the Administration to intervene in a case to support religious freedom and social conservatives—and side on behalf of a  California landlord who refused to rent to an unmarried couple because it went against her religious beliefs.

The memo, in which she is clearly expressing her own views, was sent to Jack Quinn, then the White House counsel, and Kathy Wallman, Quinn’s deputy counsel. Kagan, currently the solicitor general, authored it after Steve McFarlane, then the legal director at the Christian Legal Society, called her to say that a group of religious organizations would ask the court to review and overturn the California decision. That application was denied in 1997. Joining the society were the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Southern Baptist Convention as well as a coalition of Baptist organizations, the National Council of the Churches of Christ, and the American Jewish Congress. [...]

The memo surfaced Friday in the latest batch of Kagan documents released by the William J. Clinton Library.

Osbourne notes the Supreme Court struck down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by a vote of 6-3 in 1997 and adds: "For lesbian, transgender, bisexual and gay Americans, Kagan’s position is not academic. Religious conservatives have argued that their beliefs should allow them to ignore anti-discrimination laws protecting the queer community."

Michelangelo Signorile says the memo should be a serious concern: "It's imperative that senators ask Kagan specifically about this case and whether or not she still agrees with the sentiments of her '96 memo and what they meant for anti-discrimination laws. And LGBT advocacy groups in Washington had better push them to do so, as well as demand answers from the White House and Kagan about her views on religious freedom and laws protecting gay, lesbian bisexual and transgender Americans."

Kagan Nomination: White House Conference Call, DOMA, Hearings

The Obama Administration brought together several former Clinton Administration colleagues of Solicitor General and Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan to share their memories and praise her credentials for the high court.

This morning's White House Press Office conference call included former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta, former speechwriters Michael Waldman and Josh Gottheimer, and former domestic policy advisor Neera Tanden. The consensus was that Kagan was "brilliant" and a "consensus builder."

Waldman said that Kagan was "politically savvy and knew how policy worked." One of her skills was to act as a "translator between the highly technical technical language" of "policy wonks and the American people," Waldman said.  Waldman and Gottheimer recalled Kagan's help when they wrote Clinton's speeches to the NAACP and on tobacco.

Podesta said that Kagan had no qualms asserting herself. "She had the personality to be up in my face, [Former Treasury Secretary] Larry Summers' face or Bill Clinton's face and tell us we were wrong."

From 1995 to 1999, Kagan served as President Clinton's Associate White House Counsel, focusing on the constitutionality of legislation.  Podesta was directly asked by New Yorker/CNN Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin on Kagan's views on Roe v. Wade and affirmative action. Podesta declined and said the nominee would answer those questions during her confirmation hearings.

Also: The last question was from Keen News Service's Lisa Keen, who asked if Kagan had expressed reservations on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. After several seconds of silence, Podesta said he wasn't sure, but those memos were held by the Clinton Foundation, which is preparing to release documents. The call ended after this.

As expected on these types of calls, there were no negative comments. The silence over the DOMA question was worth noting. Not sure if they didn't anticipate the question or didn't know the answer.

In related news: Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (VT) and ranking member Jeff Sessions (AL) requested the release of some "160,000 pages of files related to Kagan's work" during that time. The White House has also requested them.

Confirmation hearings will begin June 28.

White House Conference Call

On a White House conference call re Elena Kagan nomination. Former Chief of Staff John Podesta and other colleagues in the Clinton White House discuss what her job was, how she performed and her work ethic.

SCOTUS Nominee Elena Kagan is Not a Lesbian, Longtime Friends Say

Ben Smith at Politico:

"Elena Kagan is not a lesbian, one of her best friends told POLITICO Tuesday night, responding to persistent rumors and innuendo about the Supreme Court nominee’s personal life.

'I’ve known her for most of her adult life and I know she’s straight," said Sarah Walzer, Kagan’s roommate in law school and a close friend since then. "She dated men when we were in law school, we talked about men—who in our class was cute, who she would like to date, all of those things. She definitely dated when she was in D.C. after law school, when she was in Chicago—and she just didn’t find the right person.'

Walzer, half amused and half appalled to be discussing her friend’s sexual orientation, agreed to be interviewed after Kagan’s supporters decided they should tactfully put an end to the rumor, which White House officials had already tried to squelch in background interviews with reporters. She said she decided to talk to POLITICO because the discussion of Kagan’s personal life has become a 'distraction.'

'It’s taking away from substantive discussion of the issues from a really substantive person who deserves to be given the opportunity to address the substantive issues,' she said."

And gay-baiting at The Wall Street Journal? Gay and mainstream media question why the newspaper announced Elena Kagan's nomination with a  front-page, 17-year-old photo of her playing softball.