Gay nurse ordered reinstated

TACOMA, Wash. — A federal judge ruled Friday that a decorated flight nurse discharged from the Air Force for being gay should be given her job back as soon as possible in the latest legal setback to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton marks the first time since Congress approved the policy in 1993 that a federal judge has ordered the military to allow an openly homosexual serviceman to serve in the armed forces.

“Good flight nurses are hard to find,” said Leighton, who found that the evidence presented at the trial showed Witt’s reinstatement “would not adversely affect unit morale or cohesion” in her unit.

Maj. Margaret Witt of Spokane, Wash., who joined the Air Force in 1987, was suspended in 2004 under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy after her commanders learned she was in a relationship with a civilian woman and sued to get her job back. She was a flight nurse with an aeromedical evacuation squadron responsible for transporting and caring for injured soldiers.

Her fight to be reinstated has attracted national attention as part of the broader battle about whether homosexuals will be allowed to serve openly in the military. Earlier this week, just hours after the conclusion of Witt’s six-day trial, Republicans in the Senate blocked President Barack Obama’s efforts to push through a repeal of the 1993“don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Opponents of the policy have waged a separate legal assault in federal courts. Earlier this month, they gained a victory when a California federal judge ruled that the policy was unconstitutional. The U.S. Justice Department is attempting to prevent the judge from issuing an injunction that would halt the ban on openly homosexual troops.

Witt was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.

A judge in 2006 rejected Witt’s claims that the Air Force violated her rights when it fired her. An appeals court panel overruled him two years later, leaving it to Leighton to determine whether her firing met that standard.

In 2008, Witt’s legal challenge resulted in a ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saying the military should have to establish an important government interest - such as the preservation of unit morale, discipline and order - in making the decision to force someone from the military because of openly homosexual conduct.

Her attorneys, led by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, insisted that Witt was well respected and liked by her colleagues, that her sexuality never causedproblems in the unit, and that her firing hurt military goals such as morale, unit cohesion and troop readiness. Several members of the squadron testified to that effect and said they would welcome Witt back to the unit.

Lawyers for the Air Force said such evidence was irrelevant. Military personnel decisions can’t be run by unit referendum, they said.

The judge praised Witt for her role “in a long-term, highlycharged civil-rights movement. Today, you have won a victory in that struggle.” Information for this article was contributed by Gene Johnson of The Associated Press and by Hal Bernton of The Seattle Times.