DADT Hero Major Margaret Witt Speaks Out on Military Discrimination & TransBan

With special guest co-host, esteemed journalist, Brody Levesque!

After a highly decorated 18-year career in the Air Force, Major Margaret Witt was discharged based on an allegation that she had engaged in sexual conduct with another woman: a civilian with whom she was in a committed relationship, in their home, miles from any military base. The ACLU of Washington sued, claiming that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and its application to Witt, violated her rights of liberty and equal protection. She won her case in 2010 and settled with the Air Force in 2011. The success of the Witt case at the Ninth Circuit and the district court contributed to Congress's passage of legislation finally allowing the executive branch to end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Now, Witt is ready to tell her whole story to the world in her upcoming memoir, TELL: Love, Defiance, and the Military Trial at the Tipping Point for Gay Rights, which she has co-written with Tim Connor. Major Witt is inspiring beyond imagination and reading about all the action behind the scenes gives the reader a whole new appreciation for her bravery, the ACLU, and our military.

“Major Witt’s trial provided an unparalleled opportunity to attack the central premise of [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] . . .

and set an important precedent.”— The New York Times