‘So I fight’ — Margaret Witt discusses her memoir, the downfall of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Maj. Margaret Witt discusses her memoir and her fight against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy Thursday night in the UI Law Building courtroom.

Margaret Witt’s battle plan changed many times during her 20-year career in the military. Her mission though, has stayed the same — advocate for those who do not have the platform to fight for themselves.

“My mission is to speak for those who are in a very similar position that I was in, when you’re in that helpless role where you can’t fight for yourself,” Witt said.

The retired United States Air Force Reservist visited the University of Idaho Thursday evening to discuss her long-lasting career in the military as a closeted lesbian and her related discharge — the subject of her memoir “Tell: Love, Defiance, and the Military Trial at the Tipping Point for Gay Rights.” The book, recounts Witt’s secret relationship with her wife, Laurie Johnson, and her fight against the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

Steve Smith | Courtesy                                  Maj. Margaret Witt discusses her memoir and her fight against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy Thursday night in the UI Law Building courtroom.

The event, held in the Menard Law Building courtroom, was moderated by Steven Smith, a professor in the UI School of Journalism and Mass Media. Witt, a Tacoma native, spoke to an audience of over 200 people.

The decorated flight nurse, who entered the Air Force in 1987, was dismissed in 2004 after being outed as a lesbian. She became one of the nearly 14,000 military members dishonorably discharged under the 17-year-long Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, before the Obama Administration pushed to end the law in 2011.

“You couldn’t be honest, and you couldn’t be honest about yourself,” Witt said.

Many of the people dismissed from the military faded away without much of a fight. Witt, however, dove into the battle head first.

Even before the 1994 policy began, Witt said she constantly dodged sharing her personal life with others in the military and avoided labels at all costs.

“I thought, ‘I want to serve my country.’ I’m going to keep my head down, and I don’t want to label myself,” Witt said. “I’m going to do the job I was trained to do.”

When Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell became law, Witt said her need for privacy only became stronger. She said the policy was presented as a way to ease the minds of LGBTQA military members. It did not.

“It was even difficult to have a discussion, because you didn’t know what side to come in on,” Witt said. “You had to be really strategic with the issue.”

Witt said she kept her sexuality extremely hidden. Still, she was outed.

Johnson’s ex-husband first notified Witt’s superior officers of her sexuality. The Air Force then began the process of dismissing her, citing her sexuality as a “detriment to unit cohesion and morale and readiness.”

Even though she was an important member of her unit, under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Witt said her sexuality trumped her work ethic.

“I was fine and qualified and fit for service yesterday, then charged with a confession — and today I’m unfit for service,” Witt said.

However, giving up never crossed her mind.

“My first instinct was to fight,” she said.

Witt loaded her arsenal with strong legal counsel and the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union to sue the U.S. Air Force. Without them, Witt said she would have been just another statistic — one of the 14,000.

After nearly seven years of legal battle, Witt’s case helped establish what is now known as “the Witt standard” and aided in ending the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

In that time, Witt was separated from the military lifestyle she loved and her unit, her family.

“I don’t feel resentment — I feel loss,” Witt said. “I should have been there.”

She said being a gay or lesbian military member no longer means immediate lack of cohesion among a unit — these issues are taken on as “case-by-case standards.”

Still, Witt said just because she was reinstated and the policy was disbanded, does not mean the U.S. Military or the current administration has welcomed members of the LGBTQ community.

Transgender military members have been allowed to serve for over two years now, Witt said. But, that could change.

A July 26 tweet by President Donald Trump stated he plans to reinstate the military ban on transgender people. It read, “… The United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.”

“My heart goes out to all the people dehumanized by that tweet,” Witt said.

She plans to fight alongside transgender people, because she knows the fight. Witt said she hopes the Witt standard is applied to cases of transgender military members.

“To wonder what is going to happen to you tomorrow, after you have dedicated your life to service and your country — that to me is disruptive to unit cohesion and morale and readiness,” she said.

Witt’s fight against inequality in the military is an ongoing battle, one she doesn’t plan on ending soon.

“So, I fight — that’s my mission,” Witt said. “This battle is bigger than me.”

While she keeps the morale going, Witt said she will continue to share her personal story in the hope it will prompt others to act.

“It’s hard to be a public person when you’re so used to being a private person,” Witt said. “I thought it was the end of a chapter, but it looks like there might be a sequel.”

Hailey Stewart can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @Hailey_ann97

 

 

 

 

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