Lesbian nurse’s lawsuit on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ can go forward

Maj. Margaret Witt, 42, of Spokane was suspended in 2004 after the Air Force received a tip that she had been in a long-term relationship with a civilian woman. She was honorably discharged last October, after having put in 18 years — two short of what she needed to receive retirement benefits.

In a decision issued Wednesday, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle ruled that the facts in her case must be developed to determine if the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law, as applied to Witt, furthers a compelling governmental interest. The law prohibits the military from asking about the sexual orientation of service members but requires discharge of those who acknowledge being gay or engage in homosexual activity.