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Judge reinstates gay US soldier
Source: Agencies |
November 25, 2010, Thursday
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A LESBIAN flight nurse discharged under the "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy barring gays from serving openly can rejoin the Air Force Reserve in the United States, even as the government appeals a judge's ruling that returned her to the job, her lawyers said on Tuesday.
District Judge Ronald Leighton ruled in September former Major Margaret Witt must be reinstated because her dismissal advanced no legitimate military goals and violated her constitutional rights.
The Justice Department appealed that ruling to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, its deadline for doing so.
But government lawyers did not ask the appeals judges to freeze the lower court's ruling while the appeal proceeds - and Witt's lawyers said that means she can be reinstated.
"I am thrilled to be able to serve in the Air Force again," Witt said in a written statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington state. "The men and women in the unit are like family members to me, and I've been waiting a long time to rejoin them."
Witt was suspended in 2004 and discharged after the Air Force learned she had been in a long-term relationship with a civilian woman. She sued to get her job back.
Leighton initially upheld her firing, but in 2008 a three-judge 9th Circuit panel said military members could not be discharged under "don't ask" unless their dismissal furthered military goals such as troop morale or unit cohesion. It sent the case back to Leighton, who ruled that Witt's firing actually hurt morale in her unit.
If Witt is reinstated, she will be serving openly at a time when the military's policy on gays is in disarray. President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates want to end the ban, but say it should be done through Congress, not the courts. A federal judge in California has declared the 1993 DADT law unconstitutional - a ruling the Justice Department is also appealing - and in the meantime, the Pentagon has issued new guidelines that have drastically cut the numbers of gays being dismissed.The Pentagon will release a study on November 30 on how lifting the gay ban would affect the armed forces.
The "don't ask" law prohibits the military from asking about the sexual orientation of service members, but allows the discharge of those who acknowledge being gay or are discovered to be engaging in homosexual activity.
District Judge Ronald Leighton ruled in September former Major Margaret Witt must be reinstated because her dismissal advanced no legitimate military goals and violated her constitutional rights.
The Justice Department appealed that ruling to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, its deadline for doing so.
But government lawyers did not ask the appeals judges to freeze the lower court's ruling while the appeal proceeds - and Witt's lawyers said that means she can be reinstated.
"I am thrilled to be able to serve in the Air Force again," Witt said in a written statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington state. "The men and women in the unit are like family members to me, and I've been waiting a long time to rejoin them."
Witt was suspended in 2004 and discharged after the Air Force learned she had been in a long-term relationship with a civilian woman. She sued to get her job back.
Leighton initially upheld her firing, but in 2008 a three-judge 9th Circuit panel said military members could not be discharged under "don't ask" unless their dismissal furthered military goals such as troop morale or unit cohesion. It sent the case back to Leighton, who ruled that Witt's firing actually hurt morale in her unit.
If Witt is reinstated, she will be serving openly at a time when the military's policy on gays is in disarray. President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates want to end the ban, but say it should be done through Congress, not the courts. A federal judge in California has declared the 1993 DADT law unconstitutional - a ruling the Justice Department is also appealing - and in the meantime, the Pentagon has issued new guidelines that have drastically cut the numbers of gays being dismissed.The Pentagon will release a study on November 30 on how lifting the gay ban would affect the armed forces.
The "don't ask" law prohibits the military from asking about the sexual orientation of service members, but allows the discharge of those who acknowledge being gay or are discovered to be engaging in homosexual activity.
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