Supreme Court Already Decided DADT Lesbian Major's Lawyers Tell Judge

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
July 1, 2006 - 11:00 am ET
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/07/070106military.htm

(Seattle, Washington) Lawyers for Air Force Reserve Maj. Margaret Witt, facing discharge from the military after it was discovered she is a lesbian, have told a federal judge that Don't Ask, Don't Tell cannot be enforced because of the Supreme Court ruling that overturned state sodomy laws.

The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday asked U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton for the immediate reinstatement of Witt.

For 19 years Witt served the Air Force with distinction. She served in the Persian Gulf and in 2003 was awarded an Air Force Commendation Medal for her action in saving the life of a Department of Defense employee who had collapsed aboard a government-chartered flight from Bahrain.

In 1993, she was selected to be the ?poster child? for the Air Force Nurse Corps recruitment flyer.

Most recently she was a flight nurse and operating room nurse assigned to McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma, Washington.

But after commanders received an anonymous tip in 2004 that she is a lesbian and in a long-term relationship the military began an investigation that led to her suspension and impending discharge under DADT the military's ban on gays serving openly.

ACLU lawyer James Lobsenz told the court that Witt's sexuality would never have been known except for an anonymous tip and that because her relationship was with a civilian it falls under the Supreme Court ruling that struck down state sodomy laws in which the court said the government could not interfere in private consensual sexual relations.

Lobsenz told? judge Leighton that Witt's suspension and expected discharge have hurt her former unit.?

"Her unit wants her back," Lobsenz said. "Her unit is upset that she hasn't been there for the last 19 months. People have quit and have refused to re-enlist because she can't come back."

Government lawyers have filed a motion to have the case dismissed. Justice Department attorney Peter J. Phipps told Leighton that the Supreme Court ruling did not affect the military.

"There is a public interest in having the laws of the land that Congress and the president enacted be applied," Phipps said. "There is also danger to the public interest when courts interfere with the military chain of command."

Phipps said that similar challenges of DADT have been denied by other courts. He also said that although Witt is under suspension her discharge has not been finalized and the suit is premature.

Leighton did not indicate when he might issue a ruling.

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