A federal judge has ruled 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 on Sept. 24 came in a closely watched case as a tense national debate has been playing out over the policy. Three days earlier, Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would have repealed the law banning gays from serving openly in the U.S. military.
Leighton is now the second federal judge to deem the policy unconstitutional. Earlier this month, a federal judge in California ruled the law unconstitutional and is considering whether to immediately halt the ban.
Maj. Margaret Witt was suspended in 2004 and subsequently discharged under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy after the Air Force learned she had been in a long-term relationship with a civilian woman.
Leighton determined after a six-day trial that Witt’s discharge was unjustified and advanced no legitimate military interest.
“There is no evidence that wounded troops care about the sexual orientation of the flight nurse or medical technician tending to their wounds,” Leighton ruled.
Gay rights advocates say that if the government must specifically justify each firing under “don’t ask,’’ it will mean a slow death for the policy—even if an outright repeal isn’t endorsed by Congress or the courts.
