'Don't ask': White House appeals return of nurse

The Obama administration opened another legal front Tuesday in defense of "don't ask, don't tell," appealing a federal judge's decision to reinstate a decorated Air Force nurse who was discharged after being outed as a lesbian.

The Justice Department told the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that it would appeal a ruling issued two months ago in favor of Maj. Margaret Witt, the first service member to successfully challenge her dismissal under the 1993 law.

The law prohibits openly gay or lesbian troops from serving in the armed forces. In a separate case, a federal judge in Riverside ruled the law unconstitutional in September, saying it intrudes on service members' private lives and harms the military by removing skilled personnel and increasing troop shortages.

President Obama opposes the law and has asked Congress to repeal it, but is defending it in court.

Witt joined the Air Force in 1989. She was a reserve flight nurse at a base in Washington state in 2004 when a local man reported that Witt had a sexual relationship with his wife. She was discharged in 2006.

The appeals court allowed her to seek reinstatement in a 2008 ruling that required the military, for the first time, to show that discharging a particular gay or lesbian service member would promote important goals, such as troop readiness. Previous rulings had accepted the government's argument that "don't ask, don't tell" helped the armed forces overall.

In a trial based on that ruling, government lawyers argued that Witt was legitimately discharged for an adulterous relationship. U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton rejected that explanation and said the evidence showed that Witt's unit was disrupted by the removal of an esteemed officer.

Witt's lawyers said Tuesday she will return to duty while the government appeals. In a statement, she said, "I am thrilled to be able to serve in the Air Force again."

E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 12 of the San Francisco Chronicle