Vermont Law School takes up 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

(NECN: Anya Huneke, South Royalton, VT) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates says abruptly ending "don't ask, don't tell" would have "enormous consequences."

On Tuesday, a judge in California ordered the Pentagon to cease enforcement of its policy barring gays from openly serving in the military.

Blake Johnson spent today inviting guests to an event he was co-planning for tonight -- a candlelight vigil on the Vermont Law School campus in South Royalton -- to remember the gay youths who have committed suicide in this country in just the past month.

He used the opportunity to spread the word about another issue as well: a federal judge's order to end enforcement of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which bars openly gay people from serving in the military. The judge in California declared the law unconstitutional.

Now, it is up to the Justice Department as to whether to appeal the injunction.

VLS is one of only two law schools in the country that bars military recruiters from campus because of "don't ask, don't tell." It is a stand that the school takes base don principle, but one that comes at a cost. They don't have access to certain federal funding.