In an e-mail following up on the Iowa Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision, Ruchira mentions the possibility of a challenge to the military. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" means that openly gay (or bisexual?) members of the military are not permitted to serve, but everyone is supposed to just not mention it and look the other way.
During his campaign for the presidency, Barack Obama had promised to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Because it's a statute, we actually need the Congress to do it legislatively, although the Obama administration could arguably just refuse to enforce it. In any event, the Obama administration is enforcing the law and has recently — allegedly temporarily — given up on reform.
This is a little strange because repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell enjoys widespread popular support — far more than same-sex marriage (and, I suspect without fact-checking, more than civil unions). So you'd think it should happen easily through the political process. But right now it's not. The question then becomes, Is it going to happen through a court challenge?
I doubt it. The Constitution basically does apply in the military, but the Supreme Court has traditionally recognized "the unique nature of military society" in modifying constitutional requirements. This is true, for example, in the realm of criminal procedure. I suspect that if there's anywhere where the military will be entitled to deference, it's on an issue like this which purportedly relates to the military's ability to operate effectively.
In short, a court challenge, while not inevitably unsuccessful, would almost certainly be weaker than a challenge to marriage laws, and is thus further away. It's hard to believe that policy makers haven't fixed this problem, though, and I suspect they will long before a successful court challenge could be mounted.
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