As expected, the Obama administration this week appealed a decision by a federal judge who ordered the reinstatement of an Air Force officer dismissed under the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy banning openly gay service members. But in a surprise move, government attorneys did not ask that the judge’s decision be stayed, which clears the way for Maj. Margaret Witt to rejoin the military while the case makes its way through the courts. The decision was greeted with joy by Witt and her attorneys at the American Civil Liberties Union, which interpreted the news to mean that she can rejoin the military even as the ban on openly gay service members remains.

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