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Military Ban Loses Ground

A court of appeals has held that the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy must satisfy a heightened standard of review before barring a model officer from serving.

After 18 decorated years of service with the United States Air Force, Major Margaret Witt was discharged because of her alleged sexual intimacy with her partner of six years. In 2006 the ACLU of Washington sued, claiming that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and how it was applied to Witt, violates her right of liberty. We submitted a friend-of-the-court brief demonstrating that, because of Lambda Legal's historic 2003 Supreme Court victory in Lawrence v. Texas, individuals need not completely sacrifice their constitutional right to sexual intimacy with a same-sex partner simply because the government demands it.

For at least 11 years the government on average has discharged more than 900 lesbian, gay and bisexual service members per year under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Witt's case clearly illustrates the unfairness of selectively telling only gay people that they cannot both serve and have sexual intimacy with their partners. Lambda Legal Executive Director Kevin Cathcart is optimistic about the recent court ruling. "We are hopeful that on remand the district court will agree that allowing Major Witt to serve her country poses no threat to unit cohesion and her sexuality has no bearing on her ability to perform her duties as an officer and nurse," he said, adding that the decision "is a step in the right direction towards full equality for LGBT service members in the U.S. armed forces."