Military Justice - Ben's out of the office today, so I'm gonna just keep blogging. The Gays continue to monopolize the front pages as the WaPo takes an informed look at the impact of the Lawrence decision on gays in the military. The article makes two key points:

First, it confirms that Lawrence is not the death knell of Don't Ask-Don't Tell that some wish it could be. Congress has presented much more compelling justifications for discrimination against gays in the military (i.e., "unit cohesion") than Texas ever gave for its law. Courts typically defer to the President and Congress on matters of national security. As a result, pundits say the courts are much less likely to declare DADT irrational and invalid.

On the other hand, the Post notes that the military's own sodomy law may soon bite the dust, and not simply because of court action. While anti-gay legislators and attorneys-general want to keep the invalidated laws on the books as a "moral statement," the Defense Department is moving ahead with reform. In the only real revelation in the article, the Post notes the Defense Department has asked an advisory committee to consider Lawrence-inspired changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The interplay of these developments leads to an interesting situation. You could soon see the military acknowledging that homosexual conduct is not a crime, but being gay would still be grounds for dismissal. Watch for public opinion and legislators to respond to the resulting cognitive dissonance.