Judging by Monday’s “Washington Update” from the Family Research Council, they seemed resigned to the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell:
It’s been a long, hard fight. And as sobering as the outcome may be, we can all be proud that we stood our ground and did what was right for our soldiers and our country. Now it’s time to leave the outcome, however ominous it may be, in the hands of the Lord.
But that apparent resignation did not last long, as the very next day FRC announced that they would be working with Sen. John McCain and other Republicans on ways to limit and ultimately repeal it:
As for FRC, who will take great pleasure in seeing this lame-duck finally limp out of town, we’ll be spending the next couple of weeks reassessing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” debate. In fact, I’ve already been in conversations with Hill leaders about holding hearings in the New Year, as well as statutory and legislative oversight steps that can be taken to turn back aspects of the repeal and slow down–if not stop–the rest. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and others will be working with FRC to put a strict evaluation process in place. We want to ensure that the Pentagon is monitoring the effect of this radical change on the men and women in harm’s way. One way to do that is demanding specific measurables–like tracking the sexual assaults, dips in recruitment and retention, combat distractions, and more. If there’s the slightest disruption to the military’s mission, you can bet that FRC will be on the Hill, demanding to revisit this repeal.
And it looks like FRC also expects to see suits filed to stop it:
Of course, back when federal District Judge Virginia Phillips struck down DADT in September, FRC blasted her “judicial activism”:
This is the very definition of judicial activism — when you are unable to achieve your desired policy goals through the democratic process, simply go to court and get a judge to decree that it must be so.
But now that Religious Right was to unable to achieve its desired policy goals through the democratic process, they have apparently decided to simply go to court and try to get a judge to decree that it must be so.
UPDATE: FRC’s Tom McClusky has informed us that the Fox 5 report misrepresented the point that he was making, which was that he believes that lawsuits will be filed by those who pushed for the DADT repeal, citing it as they seek other changes in policy regarding things like Defense of Marriage Act and various benefits currently available to only married couples. FRC would not file and would not support lawsuits seeking to overturn the repeal of DADT, as the organization believes this is not a matter for the courts to decide because the US Constitution clearly leaves it up to Congress.
