Lesbian cadet seeks return to West Point
Yahoo News reports a woman who left the U. S. Military Academy at West Point to fight for repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” says she wants to go back to the Army if the policy is lifted.
Katherine Miller said that she had to leave West Point because she couldn’t keep lying about her sexual orientation.
She thinks repealing the law would help the military by opening it up to more qualified candidates. Congress may take action before January.
Miller grew up in Ohio and is now attending Yale University.
She’s gotten a mixed reaction from her former classmates. She says the harshest criticism came after she wore her dress whites while walking the red carpet with Lady Gaga at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Apple removes antigay app
Advocate.com reports Apple has removed the antigay app the Manhattan Declaration, which called for users to fight marriage equality, from its iTunes store.
The decision came after thousands protested the company’s decision to approve the Manhattan Declaration for download. Apple has been known to reject a good number of gay-related mobile apps.
The app, which was free to download on iTunes, included a four-question survey, where users were asked, “Do you support same-sex relationships?” If you answer “yes,” you’ll be told you replied incorrectly.
Air Force appeals lesbian’s reinstatement
MSNBC.com reports the Air Force said Nov. 24 it hasn’t made a decision on whether to try to keep a lesbian flight nurse from being reinstated while it appeals a judge’s ruling to return her to her old job.
U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton in Tacoma, Wash., ruled two months ago that former Maj. Margaret Witt’s firing under DADT violated her rights, and he ordered she be given her job back as soon as she put in enough nursing hours to meet qualifications for the position.
The Justice Department appealed that ruling Nov. 23 but did not seek a stay to put the judge’s order on hold.
But the Air Force issued a statement Nov. 24 making clear that if Witt meets her nursing qualifications, military officials will reconsider whether to seek a stay.
Witt’s lawyers with the ALCU said they’d fight any effort to keep her from resuming her duties during the appeal.
— Larry Nichols