In this Book
- Tell: Love, Defiance, and the Military Trial at the Tipping Point for Gay Rights
- Book
- 2017
- Published by: University Press of New England
summary
In 1993 Margie Witt, a young Air Force nurse, was chosen as the face of the Air Force’s “Cross into the Blue” recruitment campaign. This was also the year that President Clinton’s plan for gays to serve openly in the military was quashed by an obdurate Congress, resulting in the blandly cynical political compromise known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Contrary to its intent, DADT had the perverse effect of making it harder for gay servicemen and -women to fight expulsion. Over the next seventeen years more than 13,000 gay soldiers, sailors, marines, coast guard, and airmen and -women were removed from military service. That is, until Margie Witt’s landmark case put a stop to it. Tell is the riveting story of Major Margaret Witt’s dedicated and decorated military career as a frontline flight nurse, and of her love and devotion to her partner—now wife—Laurie Johnson. Tell captures the tension and drama of the politically charged legal battle that led to the congressional repeal of the controversial law and helped pave the way for a suite of landmark political and legal victories for gay rights. Tell is a testament to the power of love to transform hearts and minds, as well as a celebration of the indomitable spirit of Major Witt, her wife Laurie, her dedicated legal team, and the brave men and women who came forward to testify on her behalf in a historic federal trial. “The name Margaret Witt may join the canon of US civil rights pioneers.” —Guardian “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.”— New York Times “A landmark ruling.”—Politico
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Title Page, Copyright Page
- pp. i-vi
- 1 | Homecoming
- pp. 1-15
- 2 | Young Ms. Everything
- pp. 16-29
- 3 | Crossing into the Blue, Part I
- pp. 30-38
- 4 | Crossing into the Blue, Part II
- pp. 39-46
- 5 | Flights of the Nightingales
- pp. 47-58
- 6 | Love and Lilac City
- pp. 59-67
- 7 | Halloween
- pp. 68-80
- 8 | The Scarlet Letter
- pp. 81-87
- 9 | Meeting Major Torem
- pp. 88-92
- 11 | Silver Wings
- pp. 98-106
- 12 | “Major Witt Is Gay”
- pp. 107-119
- 13 | A Sojourn to Langley
- pp. 120-129
- 14 | The Wilderness
- pp. 130-143
- 15 | The Witt Standard
- pp. 144-153
- 16 | Obi Wan Obama
- pp. 154-167
- 17 | Outing Goliath
- pp. 168-175
- 18 | True Stories
- pp. 176-192
- 19 | The Last Days of Summer
- pp. 193-208
- 20 | An Exemplary Officer
- pp. 209-216
- 21 | Heard
- pp. 217-228
- Epilogue | Out of the Blue
- pp. 229-240
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 241-242
- Notes and Sources
- pp. 243-250
- Photographs
- pp. A-P
Additional Information
ISBN
9781512601114
Related ISBN(s)
9781611688429
MARC Record
OCLC
1007847135
Pages
258
Launched on MUSE
2017-11-22
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2017