Several Asian American organizations has joined with over 20 other ethnic groups

Several Asian American organizations has joined with over 20 other ethnic groups in the United States to ask the U.S. Ninth circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a district court’s decision that struck down the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy, which discriminates against openly lesbian, gay and bisexual members of the U.S. military.

This action means that although U.S. President Barack Obama has already signed into law to repeal the ban on gay men and women serving openly in the military, the battle on the issue is not over.

The U.S. Congress enacted DADT in 1993. Since then, civil rights and ethnic groups in the country have launched many battles to ask for the appealing of the legislation.

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate voted to appeal the legislation last year and Obama signed it into law last December. However, the DADT policy remains effective pending implementation of the repeal process. During this time, lesbian, gay and bisexual service members are still subject to discharge.

Last September, a U.S. district court judge ruled that DADT was unconstitutional and ordered the military to stop enforcing the policy. But the U.S. federal government appealed that judgment to the Ninth Circuit, which granted the government’s requested stay on the injunction.

In January this year, the Ninth Circuit Court denied the government’s request that the lawsuit be suspended in light of the legislative repeal of DADT