The Log Cabin Republicans have filed a set of briefs opposing the government's request for a stay of the injunction barring enforcement of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
Says the brief, in part:
"With the injunction in place, nothing will change with regard to the composition of the military, the training, promotion, demotion, and deployment of servicemembers, the mission and operations of the armed forces, or anything else that pertains to the important governmental interest that the military serves. The evidence at trial showed that homosexual men and women already serve today; they are deployed to theaters of combat when needed – indeed, retained overall in greater numbers during times of combat – even if they are openly homosexual; it is their discharge, not their presence, that if anything impacts morale and good order."
Read the full LCR brief, below.
Said lead LCR attorney Dan Woods: 
"We weren't surprised by the Ninth Circuit ruling granting the government a temporary stay, given the short amount of time the judges had to consider the case. Now that the Court has had additional time to study the case and when it has the opportunity to consider the opposition brief we have filed today, we are cautiously optimistic that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will deny the government's motion for a stay of the injunction because the government has not met the factors required for a stay pending appeal. The government's motion does not show that the government is likely to prevail on the merits of the appeal and does not even attempt to refute the fact that the constitutional rights of current and prospective gay and lesbian servicemembers will continue to be violated during any stay. It remains sad and disappointing that the government seeks to continue to enforce 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' by its motion for a stay pending appeal, even as the President has repeatedly said that the policy 'weakens' our national security and recently said in a 'tweet' that he basically agrees with Judge Phillips's decision."
MetroWeekly reports: "Additionally, Metro Weekly has learned that Servicemembers Legal Defense Network plans to file its own opposition before the court in the form of an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, brief. Amicus briefs commonly are filed by people and groups interested in the outcome of a case even though they are not a party to the case. Lambda Legal Education and Defense Fund also plans to file an amicus brief in the case, as does Servicemembers United. Other groups could file as well. After the LCR filing, the Ninth Circuit is free to rule on the stay issue at any time."
Lambda Legal filed a friend-of-the-court brief today as well:
"Lambda Legal's amicus brief argues that DADT takes a heavy toll on lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) service members, forcing them to live in constant fear of being discovered. But its influence extends far off American military bases: 'DADT is nothing short of a public pronouncement by the federal government that discrimination against LGB people is acceptable, that LGB people are inferior to heterosexual people, and that being lesbian, gay or bisexual is a shameful trait that ought to be concealed.' The brief also argues that DADT's discriminatory message is particularly damaging to lesbian, gay and bisexual youth, as exemplified by the surge of recently-reported teen suicides caused by antigay bullying. 'The government cannot plausibly claim that its actions are unrelated to such tragedies and abuses, so long as it remains the nation's leading model for open discrimination against LGB people.'"
