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Law

Lesbian flight nurse wants Air Force job back

Major Margaret Witt at a Seattle news conference November 30, 2010.
Paula Wissel/KPLU
Major Margaret Witt at a Seattle news conference November 30, 2010.

A lesbian flight nurse says she's anxiously waiting to rejoin her unit in the U.S. Air Force reserve.  Major Margaret Witt was discharged in 2004 under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-937629.mp3

In September, a federal judge in Tacoma ruled Witt's firing under "don't ask, don't tell" violated her rights. U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton ordered that she be given her job back as soon as she met qualifications for the position. The federal government has appealed the decision.

At a news conference at the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington offices in Seattle, Witt and her attorneys said they've heard informally that the government is unlikely to block Witt's reinstatement while the case works its way through the appeals process.

Meanwhile, Witt says she longs for the day when the "don't ask, don't tell" policy is rescinded and gays and lesbians are able to serve openly. "I hope that soon I'll be known just as a flight nurse, instead of a lesbian flight nurse," Witt said.

Witt says she would like to rejoin her reserve unit as early as the third weekend of December, which would be her regular weekend to be on duty.

Paula is a former host, reporter and producer who retired from KNKX in 2021. She joined the station in 1989 as All Things Considered host and covered the Law and Justice beat for 15 years. Paula grew up in Idaho and, prior to KNKX, worked in public radio and television in Boise, San Francisco and upstate New York.