Law professor comments on military's 'Don't ask' reform

Professor and Dean Emeritus Paul Bender of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law was quoted in a Sept. 22 article in the ASU State Press, “Students weigh in on failed ‘Don’t ask’ reform.”

Reporter Danielle Legler’s article took the pulse of ASU students on a recent decision by the U.S. Senate to block repeal of the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. It enables the Department of Defense to ban openly gay and bisexual people from serving in the military. A federal judge in California had previously ruled the policy unconstitutional.

“I believe that the ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy is unconstitutional because it violates the Equal Protection Clause,” Bender said. “People are being unfairly treated when they shouldn’t be.”

To read the full article, click here.

Bender teaches courses on U.S. and Arizona constitutional law. He has written extensively about constitutional law, intellectual property and Indian law, and is coauthor of the two-volume casebook/treatise, Political and Civil Rights in the United States. Bender has argued more than 20 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and actively participates in constitutional litigation in federal and state courts.

Janie Magruder, Jane.Magruder@asu.edu
(480) 727-9052
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law