After Ruling on Gay Policy, New Questions for Obama

don’t ask, don’t tell” policy toward gay and bisexual members of the military unconstitutional is good news for the Obama administration.

President Obama supports a repeal of the policy, as does his defense secretary, and the House voted to let the Defense Department repeal the ban in May. The Senate has been pondering taking action under increasing pressure from advocates for a policy change.

But things are rarely as straightforward as they seem in Washington, and in other ways the decision presents the White House and Congressional Democrats with a problem.

To begin with, the administration, compelled to defend existing laws, may well appeal the ruling by Judge Virginia A. Phillips of Federal District Court in California declaring the existing policy unconstitutional. (A similar dynamic occurred when the administration defended the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 statute that puts obstacles in front of legal recognition for same-sex marriages, despite Mr. Obama’s opposition to the act.)

Further, while groups that support a ban are now ratcheting up pressure on members of the Senate to vote on a measure ending the policy, there is a slim chance that the bill will make it to the floor before Congress heads home next month to campaign for the midterm elections.

The Senate has considerable other business to take up over a short period of time, largely bills pertaining to taxes and the economy. Quick enactment of this policy change, which would be made through an amendment to a larger Pentagon authorization bill, seems unlikely, especially given widespread opposition among conservatives.

There is also the political reality that Democrats in competitive states and districts are unlikely to want to engage in a fight over an issue of social policy and risk further energizing conservative voters just seven weeks before Election Day.

The government has 60 days to file any appeal of the ruling, which puts the administration in an awkward position among the liberal base voters who have been pressing for repeal of the policy.

The acting solicitor general, Neal Katyal, must approve any appeal the Justice Department files. A department spokesman said Friday that it was “reviewing the judge’s opinion.”

The issue has barely surfaced in the raucous approach to the midterm elections, in which every imaginable wedge issue is being weighed.

Jim Manley, spokesman for Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said the policy change remained “an important priority but we need some Republican cooperation.”

One Republican, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, already voted in favor of allowing the military to repeal the current policy when the issue was before the Armed Services Committee. But at least one Democrat, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, has expressed concerns about such a repeal, and it is not clear whether Democrats have the necessary 60 votes to move the legislation.