Dana V. Starks, chair and commissioner of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, issued a statement praising The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' May 21 ruling that allows Air Force Maj. Margaret Witt to continue her legal battle against the military.
The military dismissed Witt after a career of almost two decades when personnel discovered that she had a six-year relationship with another woman.
The statement read, in part, ''I commend the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals calling into question the constitutionality of the federal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' statute affecting gay and lesbian members of the armed forces. Stereotypical assumptions about the presence of gays and lesbians in our armed services should no longer drive public policy. It is gratifying that federal courts are now recognizing that gay and lesbian service members can and do contribute their talents in harmony with their heterosexual colleagues. They do not deserve to be treated as inherently disruptive.'
