Via press release, here’s the very strong statement from the Legal Director of Lambda Legal, Jon Davidson (with my emphasis added):
“We congratulate Major Witt on her return to service and our colleagues at the ACLU of Washington who represented her. However, the decision to appeal by the Department of Justice leaves us wondering just what part of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue’ does the Obama Administration not get? Notwithstanding President Obama’s concession that the military’s current anti-gay policies are hurting national security, his administration is continuing to pursue the discharge of a decorated officer who did not ‘tell,’ who would not have even been investigated under the military’s current guidelines, and whose discharge has been found not to promote unit cohesion or morale. While it is good that the administration decided not to seek a stay of Major Witt’s reinstatement, there was no necessity for an appeal to be filed, contrary to suggestions of Obama Administration representatives. After a trial, Major Witt was found to be ‘an exemplary officer,’ ‘an effective leader,’ ‘a caring mentor’ and ‘an integral member of an effective team,’ whose ‘loss within [her] squadron resulted in a diminution of the unit’s ability to carry out its mission.’ Filing this appeal and refusing to suspend discharges pending the repeal of the military’s current anti-gay policy is a significant failure on the part of our nation’s Commander in Chief.“
We agree with Lambda Legal. Robert Gibbs was wrong. There was no necessity for this appeal to be filed. It’s is a significant failure.
Sign our letter to the President, urging him to become actively involved in the effort to pass the Defense bill with the DADT language. We’re running out of time — and we don’t need another significant failure. The letter is here.
