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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: WTHU ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY[ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME:27-APR-1998 18:46:00.00
SUBJECT: Today's Army: Less an adventure than a job
TO: David B. Des Roches ( David B. Des Roches@EOP [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
>Today's Army: Less an adventure than a job
>
>By F. Richard Ciccone
>and Joseph A. Kirby
>Tribune Staff Writers
>April 19, 1998
>
>(First of five parts.)
>
>FT. CARSON, Colo. -- As 1st Lt. Ian Anderson was completing his three-year
>commitment to the U.S. Army last fall, he began a series of job interviews
>that amazed and dismayed him.
V
>"I told one woman who interviewed me I was a lieutenant, and she didn't
know
>what that was. They don't know the difference between officers and
enlisted
>personnel," said Anderson, who relocated to Boston with his wife, a recent
>law school graduate.
V
>"They ask if you joined the Army for the money. They think everyone joins
>for the money. They think the Army is all black. Another person who
>interviewed me didn't know the difference between the Army, Navy, Air
Force
>or Marines. She thought it was all one thing."
>
>A half-century ago it seemed that everyone in America was in the armed
>forces or was the son, daughter, brother, sister, father, mother or lover
of
>someone in the Army.
>
>Thirty years ago every American male anticipated or dreaded the draft.
Most
>of them avoided it, some illegally, but the specter of the Army and its
>austere, even grim lifestyle was an expected detour in American manhood.
>
>Today, the Army as a way of life is only an afterthought, if it is ever
>thought of at all by most Americans who have virtually no contact with the
>military.
>
>There was a brief flurry of chest-pounding pride and unfurling of dusty
>flags and a welcome of fluttering of roses after the Desert Storm triumph
>seven years ago, but for most Americans the conflict in the Middle East
was
>simply cheering for the home team.
>
>Few Baby Boomers served in the armed forces. During the Vietnam War the
GIs
>included few of those who had avoided the draft by staying in college or
>discovering any possible alternative to military service. Hardly anyone
>under age 40 has served, and most Generation Xers don't even know anyone
who
>was in the Army.
>
>Most of what the public knows about the modern military stems from
stories
>of recruits being coerced into sex at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground
in
>Maryland the "don't ask, don't tell" debate over homosexuals in the
>military, the Navy's Tailhook debacle and the Air Force's dilemma with the
>admittedly adulterous Lt. Kelly Flinn.
>
>The modern Army is vastly different than the images most Americans have of
>strict discipline, constant marching, Spartan living conditions and a
sense
>of uncertain adventure coupled with intervals of carefree frolics.
V
>The Chicago Tribune recently visited several Army posts to provide an
update
>on the modern GI beyond the sexual conflicts that have created a dominant
>image but have a minimal effect on the daily life of a soldier.
>
>A four-month examination of today's Army found that soldiers are just as
>concerned about their lifestyle as the civilians who may be baffled at
>anyone's decision to join an institution steeped in discipline and
>sacrifice. The soldiers have many of the same ambitions as most Americans,
>especially men, in their 20s: Some want to succeed in sports, others want
to
>run for public office and almost all of them want the next promotion and
pay
>raise.
>
>Indeed, though many of them joined the Army for its educational benefits,
>more than a few professed a sincere, perhaps anachronistic, desire to
serve
>their country. That said, few of them are any more eager than their
civilian
>counterparts would be to shed their blood or give their lives on some
>unknown battleground in some unforeseen war.
>
>Yet they are ready on a daily basis to be deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina,
>Somalia, Korea or any one of a hundred places unlikely to be chosen as
>"getaways" by their peers in civilian life.
V
>The Army mostly lives where everyone else in America lives, in houses and
>apartments. For the less than 20 percent who live on post, the family
>housing is modest. Single soldiers do not bunk in barracks with 30 or 40
>roommates. They share dormitory quarters and cover their walls with rock
>posters or paint of various glowing hues. Soldiers pick up their kids at
day
>care and coach soccer teams.
>
>The honky-tonks that once lined the roads outside the post gates are
mostly
>gone. Single soldiers hang out at malls filled with Gaps, Wal-Marts, Radio
>Shacks and every imaginable form of fast food. Soldiers date, marry and
>divorce. The Army doesn't tell anyone who to date or marry, although the
>"don't ask, don't tell" mandate sometimes provides cover for heterosexuals
>avoiding the Army's perpetual frown on fraternization between enlisted and
>commissioned personnel.
>
>Mess halls resemble suburban restaurants with booths and music and soft
>lighting. Some have real flowers on the tables. The traditional SOS of
World
>War II infamy may still be found on a breakfast buffet line but there are
>also muffins and croissants.
>
>Most of the Army is married and having children who attend preschool and
>join Cub Scouts and Indian Princesses. They live like any other Chicago
>child except they live in more places. Their mommies and daddies do what
>most Chicagoland mommies and daddies do every day. They go to work.
>
>The Army, at century's end, is a job.
V
>Women soldiers talk of glass ceilings more than harassment. Ambitious
>soldiers fret about the inability to get ahead of peers who perform only
the
>minimum requirements for promotion. Downsizing is just as much a fear in
the
>military as it is in civilian companies. Everyone worries if the benefit
>package and the pensions are going to be cut.
>
>The Army, whose ranks swelled to 8.3 million during the great midcentury
>conflicts, has fewer than 500,000 soldiers, and if some congressional
forces
>have their way, it will dwindle even more.
>
>This disturbs and frightens career soldiers like Ruben Blackmon, who
>completed his Army career as the command sergeant major of the post at Ft.
>Carson, Colo. At the end of the World War II, the American military
numbered
>15 million out of a population of 150 million -- one in 10 Americans
served
>in the armed forces. "By the end of the century you will have less than 1
>million servicemen protecting a nation of close to 300 million," Blackmon
>noted. "I wonder if that's right."
>
>The Army has undergone other drastic changes since the Vietnam War. The
U.S.
>ended the draft in 1973, creating the volunteer Army. It began accepting
>women and ordered a halt to the physical intimidation of soldiers who
failed
>to meet GI Joe standards. There are supposed to be no more Sgt. Snorkels,
>beating hapless privates like Beetle Bailey into cartoon clouds of dust.
V
>The question of sexual harassment that the Supreme Court is dealing with
in
>several cases this spring is a major preoccupation in America and the
Army,
>which is simply a mirror of the society it serves. In September, the Army
>released a report based on interviews with 500 of its more than 70,000
women
>soldiers. The report showed widespread dissatisfaction with attitudes
toward
>women, and the Army instituted more training periods and procedures to
>change them. The report did not reveal widespread rape or sexual abuse
>allegations, but it did little to erase the images of Aberdeen and the
>court-martial of Sgt. Major Gene McKinney.
>
>Most women soldiers talk readily about the "old boy" network that still
>exists in the Army, although few of them see any difference in their jobs
>and a comparable civilian workplace.
>
>"The attitudes in the Army aren't going to change until society changes,"
>said Master Sgt. Sharon Pierce, a 19-year veteran based at Ft. Carson.
"The
>Army is changing just as the civilian world changes. The younger men are
far
>less threatened by women doing their jobs. It's the older generation that
>finds change difficult, but that is the way they were brought up. Until
men
>are brought up differently, you'll always have some guys who think women
>don't belong, whether it's the Army or some factory."
>
>When asked about harassment, lewd remarks and discriminatory practices,
most
>women soldiers reply, "It depends on who you work for."
>
>As in the private sector, the problem of women being supervised solely by
>men is diminishing as the number of female officers and senior sergeants
>increases.
>
>The role of women in the Army still piques society's prurient interests.
>During Desert Storm the media spent an inordinate amount of time exploring
>the pregnancies of women Gls. It still has been unable to report on the
>exact number of Iraqi casualties.
>
>Ever since George Washington sent his soldiers home after Yorktown, the
>Army's importance to its civilian bosses has declined sharply with the
>conclusion of hostilities and threats. The peacetime Army has always been
a
>favorite target of politicians. In the 1990s, with America eagerly
awaiting
>its "peace dividend," the federal hierarchy instituted its usual cutbacks
>and adopted the private sector's favorite cost reduction method --
>downsizing.
V
>The Army's size has been reduced from 780,000 to 495,000 and is scheduled
to
>decline another 15,000 by 2000.
>
>Congress is far more of a worry to soldiers than harassment is. Congress
has
>reduced the time-honored "retire at 20 at half pay" that retained so many
>Gls from the World War II and Korean conflicts. Now it is stay for 20
years
>if you are allowed and take 35 percent of pay. Dependents are now on a
>managed-care health program. Dental work is not totally free. And not
>everyone who has a clean record and gets promoted is certain of reaching
>maximum retirement benefits. The Army eliminates jobs just the way General
>Motors and IBM do.
>
>And Congress, which from the Civil War to Vietnam always had a healthy
>number of veterans who might empathize with the military, is being filled
>with those same Americans who never served or even knew anyone in the
>service.
>
>"I'd like to stay for 20," said Sgt. Antonio Jenkins of the 101st Air
>Assault Division at Ft. Campbell, Ky., "but they are taking so many things
>away from the soldier, the perks, the benefits. Once it was 50 percent
>retirement pay, now it's 30, what's next? Being a soldier is getting to be
>just like a blue-collar worker."
>
>Not exactly.
V
>Beyond the budget cuts and the downsizing and the fretting over benefits
>that create the same anxieties throughout the American work force, there
is
>deployment.
>
>>From the end of World War II to the end of the Cold War, the Army was
>deployed 10 times. In the last six years, it has deployed 25 times.
>
>On any given day, 25 percent of the Army does not sleep in its own bed.
>
>There are 45,000 soldiers in Europe, 37,000 in Korea, 15,000 deployed in
>various parts of the Pacific and Asia and another 35,000 on special
training
>duty or assigned to any one of the 100 countries where the U.S. has a
>presence, training duty or public relations effort.
>
>"It's a totally different way of life for the Army," said Brig. Gen. Jack
>Schmitt, deputy base commander at Ft. Carson. "Before the Cold War ended
we
>did not deploy like this. We had a forward presence in Europe and in the
>Pacific, which we still have, but we did not have all this continual
>deployment because we were focused on what was a major threat in two parts
>of the world. Now, we have regional threats and concerns."
V
>The Army's shrinkage means fewer people are going more places more often.
V
>Some soldiers have been deployed in unit actions during the last five
years
>to Somalia, Liberia, Haiti, Rwanda and the Middle East. Others fill
normal
>rotations in Germany and Korea. Still others go to Bolivia, Thailand,
>Norway, Romania, Honduras, Denmark, Poland and almost any place on the
globe
>that has a name. The average soldier at Ft. Carson, where 15,000 soldiers
>are based, spends 109 days away from home each year. Specialized units,
such
>as the 10th Special Forces, may spend 180 days in other countries.
>
>"This is a great concern," Schmitt said. "We must have balanced readiness
>between deploying and maintaining a soldier's quality of life."
>
>As the Army explores its new regional missions the equation for deployment
>has changed. While such high profile units as the 101st Air Assault
Division
>at Ft. Campbell, Ky., can be spun off into the world on 18 hours notice,
it
>is not always the combat units that get first call.
V
>"The first eight people the Army sent to Bosnia were reconnaissance. The
>next one was a public affairs specialist, and the next 10 were also public
>affairs people," said Sgt. Maj. Mark van Treuren, head of B Company public
>affairs office at Ft. Hood, Texas. "What has happened since the Cold War
is
>the people who used to be sent first are being sent last, and the ones who
>used to go last are going first."
>
>Exacerbating the problem is that the Army no longer is mostly single, as
it
>was in the days of the draft. More than 60 percent of the Army is married.
>For the single soldier, deployments might be an adventure. For married
>soldiers it is often a dilemma. "It's impossible to maintain a family and
an
>Army career in the 1990s," said one departing officer.
>
>Even West Point graduates, no longer the bulwark of the officer cadre,
>depart after their five-year commitment. For many, the reason is money.
>
>A four-star general with 24 years of service there only are a dozen of
>them -- earns $136,820 a year, including housing allowance. A private with
>less than two years of service earns $11,000 a year in base pay while a
>newly minted second lieutenant earns a little more than $21,000.
>
>The Army argues that many of its soldiers are paid comparably to what
their
>skills would demand in the private sector. It also admits its lowest ranks
>are terribly underpaid. There are 6,600 soldiers who receive food stamps
and
>thousands of others would qualify "if they weren't too proud to ask," said
>Sgt. Maj. Blackmon.
>
>The biggest attrition the Army suffers in its officer cadre is among the
>junior officers, lieutenant through captain, who represent 50 percent of
the
>66,000 commissioned officers. The prospect of more money is a big factor,
>but deployment and regimentation take a toll too.
>
>Capt. Mike Mills, West Point Class of '92, is getting out, citing too many
>deployments, sagging morale and lack of challenge.
>
>"Promotions are routine. I can be 100 percent effective, and the next guy
>can put out only 80 percent, and we're both going to get to the same
place,"
>Mills said.
>
>That has always been the strength and weakness of the military. While
Mills
>and others see no rewards for high achievement, many of the officers and
>almost all the career enlisted personnel savor the security of equal
>opportunity and equal rewards.
>
>Enlisted promotions are based on merit. Soldiers accrue points for meeting
>military goals such as physical fitness, marksmanship and performance of
>duties. But promotions also are based on special training and individual
>accumulation of skills. Education is critical in the modern Army.
>
>Everyone has a high school diploma. Nearly 17,000 of the 300,000 enlisted
>personnel have college degrees, and many are working on graduate degrees.
>There are 18,000 graduate degrees in the Army, most of them held by
>officers. Of the soldiers who re-enlisted in 1996, 3,500 have college
>degrees. Almost every soldier has accrued college credits. Most senior
>enlisted personnel have college degrees and are working on graduate
degrees.
>Of the 375 generals of various ranks in the Army, they have among them
more
>than 400 graduate degrees. Not every general has a master's, but some have
>two.
>
>Education is the Army's most potent recruiting and retaining tool. Besides
>the highly publicized $30,000 worth of education money offered to
recruits,
>there is the college loan program, and once someone is in the Army, there
>are programs to provide college education, technical training or tuition
>funds for almost anything from computer programming to beauty school.
>Reenlistment incentives include a six-month college sabbatical.
>
>Almost every soldier interviewed said it was the promise of college
dollars
>that lured him or her to the Army, although many enlisted soldiers had
their
>college degrees before they signed up.
>
>Recruiters, of course, promise other things like training for careers that
>will enrich enlistees' return to civilian life.
>
>Sgt. James Adams of Harvey was recruited to be a combat engineer. "My
>recruiter asked me if I ever saw those big buildings in Chicago being
blown
>up to make way for new construction. He told me if I joined the Army, I'd
be
>blowing up bigger things and when I got out I could make a lot of money
>blowing up buildings in Chicago."
>
>Instead, Adams recalled wryly, "I was out there all alone in the middle of
>the night in the desert on the Kuwait border marking roads to Baghdad. I
>often wish I could meet that recruiter again sometime," he said with a
>smile. "I'd shake his hand. He did a good job on me."
>
>Adams wasn't really a hard sell. Like many others, he was not only going
>somewhere, he also was leaving some place.
>
>"I come from Harvey. You know what's that like. 'Either deal or die.' I
>left."
>
>Adams, like many African-Americans, was chided by friends for going into
the
>Army.
V
>There still is a perception in the nation's urban centers that the Army is
>racist. Sgt. Forrest Bradford of the 101st Air Assault Division enlisted
six
>years ago from his home in Oakland. "All my friends said, 'You're crazy.
The
>Army is full of racists.' I said, 'Man, you're the one that's crazy. The
>Army's all black.' "
>
>Not quite. But 27 percent of the Army is. There are twice as many white
>males as African-American males in the Army and numbers black female
>soldiers and white females are almost the same. There are 27
>African-American generals in the Army. One of them is a woman. There are
348
>white generals, six of them women.
>
>The top non-commissioned officer spot, sergeant major, with a rank of E-9,
>has 1,769 white males and 988 black males. At the E-8 and E-7 ranks, the
gap
>is closer. Slightly more than 50 percent of those ranks are filled by
whites
>and more than 35 percent by blacks. It is clear that more blacks who enter
>the Army at the enlisted level choose to make it a career than either
their
>white counterparts or black commissioned officers.
>
>Bradford, 25, plans to make the Army his career, and he could be, would
like
>to be, a poster boy for Army recruiting. Bradford is a self described
>"high-speed" soldier, one of the warriors who are the minority in the sea
of
>soldiers serving in motor transport, aviation, administration, finance,
>signal corps, hospital services, veterinary services, acquisition,
>intelligence, public affairs, military intelligence, military police and
>legal services.
>
>Bradford rappels from helicopters, jumps from planes and runs and runs and
>runs. The Army will not admit that its physical standards have declined
>since the advent of the volunteer Army and women Gls, but the daily
physical
>training standards are different for women and the once physically
>intimidating nature of an Army base and the sergeants who ran them is
>remote. Critics say the Army has gone soft, but the critics have missed
>Forrest Bradford's act.
>
>For those who fret there are no warriors, Bradford and the rest of the
101 st
>Air Assault Division exhibit their esprit freely. They run, they jump and
>interject their daily routine with shouts of "Hoo-Ah!" that a film
director
>would cherish. But there is no false bravado in the modern Army. Bradford
is
>not choosing a career to go to war.
V
>"I will stay. I have no choice. I have a little girl and another baby
>coming. I work two night jobs. The Army will take care of my family. I'll
>never be poor again. I lived in places with no heat, no electricity. My
>daughters will never go through that. I'll stay as long as I have to."
>
>His colleague, Sgt. Jenkins, could also be in the Army commercial. He was
>candid about his decision, one that so many others make for the same
reason
>although they prefe
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN 1)
CREATION DATE/TIME: 1-MAY-1998 12:58:00.00
SUBJECT: NC6769: 5 reports from S.C. pride
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN )
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
* Reprint rights for this copyrighted news article must be obtained
*
*
--->
by you
from the originating news organization.
*
1. SUN NEWS AIDS memorial focuses on life
2. SUN NEWS Organizers, participants excited as Pride98 begins
3. SUN NEWS Oral Majority's presence felt
4. SUN NEWS Gay comic accents importance of honesty, integrity in his
life
5. SUN NEWS Pride98 traffic snarls expected to be minimal
SUN NEWS, May 1, 1998
Box 406,Myrtle Beach,SC,29577
(Fax 803-626-0356)(E-MAIL [email protected])
(http://www.myrtlebeachaccess.com)
AIDS memorial focuses on life
By Elaine Gaston
THE SUN NEWS
They came Thursday to remember friends and relatives who died of AIDS,
and
they left comforted, moved and challenged.
;;;; About 75 people attended an interdenominational AIDS memorial service
at
St. Michael's Catholic Church in Garden City Beach. The service, which
featured reflections, biblical readings and hymns delivered by religious
leaders from area churches, kicked off the ninth annual S.C. Gay and
Lesbian
Pride March and Festival.
Throughout the one-hour service, the names of people who succumbed to
AIDS flashed across a television monitor set up on the altar. As each name
faded on the blue background, another appeared.
"Every name that's been presented has been presented out of love,"
Monsignor Thomas Duffy, pastor of St. Michael's, said before the service
began. "No one put their name up there to be ridiculed. Everyone has put
their names up there to be loved."
;;;;
Many in the audience dabbed wet eyes with white crumpled tissues as
they
sat watching the monitor and listened to the comforting words of the Rev.
Carson Rogerson of Timberlake Baptist Church as he reflected on life and
death.
"The challenge for us is to live each day, to grow each day, and to
give
with each new day that we have," Rogerson said, "And to look within
ourselves and reach out to others in love, acceptance, patience and hope to
what we all might become together."
A woman swayed as the Rev. Wayne Brown of First Baptist Church of
Myrtle
Beach sang a song of hope. And she cried when Brown shared his grief of
losing
his mother and father.
;;;; "I know the reality of death, but I found three things to be
important.
Stay close to our family, friends and to God," Brown said. "He is the
author
of life and the finisher of life. We know that our grief is sustained
because
we have a God who loves us and promises to be with us and walk with us in
life."
;;;; Brown also challenged the participants and the community to be kind to
each other.
;;;; "My prayer for this community and beyond is that we will treat one
another with respect and dignity," he said.
;;;; An older couple stood close together, their arms supporting each
other's
back.
;;;;
Nearby, a woman prayed the Rosary. And a man twisted a handkerchief
and
occasionally removed his glasses to dry tears throughout the service.
Participants were given red ribbons at the opening of Thursday's
ceremony. Midway through the service, they were invited to drop the ribbons
into a basket on the altar and pick up another red ribbon from the basket
at
the close of the service.
if
Duffy said exchanging ribbons symbolized the solidarity of the
participants and their need to pray for each other.
"These symbolize people who are in need because we are all
affected,"
Duffy said. "I've got a problem because there are people out there who
don't
feel they're welcome. I've got a problem that there's people who think
they're
Christian and they're hating someone. And that's my problem. But I'm not
going
to be able to solve it. Hopefully, I'll put it there in the basket and pick
someone's up and they'll be praying for me. And I'll be praying for those
affected by AIDS."
;;;; The service evolved from a plan for an AIDS prayer service during
Pride98, a suggestion by Patrick Evans, co-chair of Pride98 and a St.
Michael's parishioner. Duffy said he readily accepted Evans' idea and
invited
other religious leaders to join in the mission to memorialize those who
have
died from AIDS.
;;;;
"I was really thrilled that these people came here to celebrate life
and
that they recognized there was a need to pause to remember their loved ones
who have touched them in meaningful ways and have died," Duffy said. "The
best way for us to live is to love, and remember the love we have received,
and try to pass it on to others by the way we live now."
The idea for the service, however, wasn't as easily accepted by some
parish members, Duffy said.
"I've got to love them and reach out to them," Duffy said. "AIDS is
not a homosexual disease. It affects everyone. We need to find ways to love
them and welcome them."
Duffy's message to those who attended was to accept each other and
avoid
being self-righteous.
;;;; "God loves us not so much because of who we are but because of who he
is. God is love," Duffy said. "I think the challenge God gives us is not
to
compare ourselves to anyone else, but to recognize our own capacity to
love.
We are to love everyone because we are loved."
The Rev. Keith Bowling of First Christian Church praised Duffy and the
church's AIDS Ministry for holding the ceremony.
:::5
"You're either brave or nuts," Bowling said. "I choose to think
they
have courage and that they have searched their hearts and souls and decided
what was best for the whole. I'd like to think there are more of us out
there
who would do what's best for the whole."
Bowling has been HIV-positive for 11 years.
"I think I am more alive now than ever," Bowling said. "It took a
lot
of dying out of self. I think I've resurrected."
Bowling also offered the bereaved hope.
"This is about life. This isn't about death," he said. "Those who
have
gone before us have already worn the path, and we won't have to suffer as
many
briars. How brave they must have been to have to suffer and put up with
prejudice."
;;;; They were comforting words for one woman who lost her brother to AIDS
six
years ago.
;;;; "We have the luxury of knowing we will be together again," the woman
said, declining to give her name. "I would be very selfish to wish him
back
again."
Mike Savage of Myrtle Beach said the ceremony was a positive step, but
that people need to be more accepting of others.
;;;;
"People need to stop criticizing people in the name of God and begin
looking into themselves," Savage said. "That was the worst sin of all to
judge in God's name."
;;;; A red-eyed Dee Ivan said she felt drained after the service.
;;;; "I feel like I've given blood," said the Garden City Beach resident.
"You could feel the Holy Spirit. It was absolutely beautiful."
SUN NEWS, May 1, 1998
Organizers, participants excited as Pride98 begins
By Anitra Brown
THE SUN NEWS
Registration for the Ninth Annual S.C. Gay and Lesbian Pride March and
Festival opened Thursday, and festival organizers said the biggest problem
they encountered so far was the threat of rain.
;;;; Members of the S.C. Gay Pride and Lesbian Movement have been planning
their annual march since last year and were full of optimism on the
festival's
opening day.
"We're all like 'man, it's here," said Pride co-chairman Dean
Bentley.
"It's happening. It's really coming together."
Mike Shank, spokesman for the Official All Star Cafe, where
registration
is being held, said local police were patrolling the area around the cafe
Thursday as a "safety precaution," but added that things were going
well.
;;;;
"All we need now is for the weather to cooperate," said Harriet
Hancock, head of the Columbia PFLAG chapter. "But rain or shine, we're
going
to do it."
Hancock said members of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
chapters
from Charleston, Greenville and Columbia will join the Myrtle Beach PFLAG
group at the rally and march.
;;;; Because of threatening skies and light drizzle, the registration,
which
was supposed to take place outside the cafe, was moved inside.
;;;;
Almost 400 people registered by Thursday afternoon, according to Pride
organizers. Some came from as far away as Minnesota, but many were
reluctant
to talk to media or have photos taken.
;;;;
Greg Collins and Parrish Stegall, both of Charlotte, N.C., who
registered
early Thursday, said they were excited about the weekend.
The couple, who were also here for the Easter holiday, are staying
with
friends in Conway.
Collins said controversy surrounding the march fueled his desire to
attend the ninth annual Gay Pride rally.
;;;; "But we planned on coming no matter what," Collins said. "I plan to
stand up and be proud with everybody else."
;;;; Stegall, whose aunt Barbara Garrison is a Pride98 event organizer,
said
he doesn't think there will be any problems during the festival's march
and
rally.
"I don't expect any violence, at least not from the gay community,"
Stegall said.
At Sunday's Citizens for Traditional Family Values Rally, organizers
of
that event also said they did not plan any counter-protests during the
Pride
march and rally.
"I think it's going to be fine," Collins said.
;;;; Tony Snell, a chairman of the Pride98, said he expects more people to
arrive by Saturday for the march and rally.
"I'm really pleased with the numbers, especially with the inclement
weather," Snell said around 5 p.m. Thursday. "[Today] is going to be the
big
day. And a lot of locals are waiting to register Saturday before the
march."
;;;;
The Rev. J. Neely, who is performing Sunday's mass commitment service,
will arrive Saturday night. Pride98 organizers will have to drive to the
airport in Wilmington, N.C., to get Neely, who couldn't get a flight into
Myrtle Beach.
;;;;
In addition to festival activities, Collins and Stegall said they
plan on
checking out other sites around Myrtle Beach.
;;;;
"We're going to get some sun if it ever comes out," Stegall said.
Standing outside the Official All-Star Cafe, Stegall and Collins,
who've
been together for almost two years, said they hadn't decided whether they
would participate in the mass commitment ceremony Sunday.
"We're talking about it," Collins said.
Meanwhile, some local merchants and hoteliers are getting ready to
cash
in on the weekend.
A front desk clerk at the downtown Holiday Inn said the hotel was
booked
this weekend because of a number of events. In addition to the Gay Pride
rally, the clerk said several people participating in senior trips and a
convention were booked at the hotel.
;;;;
Many other downtown and Ocean Boulevard businesses displayed the
rainbow-
colored "gay-friendly" stickers, welcoming Pride98 participants to their
shops, stores and restaurants.
;;;; Anitra Brown covers Myrtle Beach life for The Sun News. She can be
reached at 444-1762 or 1-800-568-1800, Ext. 762.
SUN NEWS, May 1, 1998
Oral Majority's presence felt
By Anitra Brown
THE SUN NEWS
S.C. Gay and Lesbian Pride Movement organizers say they welcome the
presence of Bob Kunst and his group the Oral Majority at Pride98, the ninth
annual S.C. Pride march.
;;;;
Kunst is president of the gay rights organization based in Miami.
;;;; Spurred by controversy over Gay Pride and statements made by Myrtle
Beach
Mayor Mark McBride, Kunst jumped on the Pride98 bandwagon earlier this
year.
He and his group will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. today.
In March, Kunst described gay rights activism in South Carolina as
"exciting" and said statements made by McBride were "a wonderful
opportunity to take advantage of."
;;;; "We know he's coming," said Tony Snell, Pride98 co-chairman. "He's
got
some good issues. We've talked with him and we encourage his work. His
group
addresses issues on an international and hemispheric level. He does
something
we're not able to do."
The group recently led an effort to boycott Maine, the Cayman
Islands,
Anguilla and Montserrat because of "anti-gay" actions by the government
in
those places.
;;;; More than 6,600 have signed a the group's Cayman Islands and Maine
boycott petitions, according to Kunst.
;;;; And Kunst's group is also concerned about what he calls a "sexual
witch
hunt" by Newt Gingrich and other Republican Party leaders.
;;;; According to Kunst, the Republican Party's agenda is to "get Clinton
no
matter what, while ignoring the real issues."
Kunst has decided to make Myrtle Beach the stage where he will kick
off
his national gay rights campaigns titled "No gay rights, no gay monies,"
and
"Impeach GOP."
;;;; He will hold today's news conference between Eighth and Ninth avenues
North on the superblock west of U.S. 17, where the Gay Pride march will
begin
Saturday.
;;;; Anitra Brown covers Myrtle Beach life for The Sun News. She can be
reached at 444-1762 or 1-800-568-1800, Ext. 762.
SUN NEWS, May 1, 1998
Gay comic accents importance of honesty, integrity in his life
By Mike Morgan
THE SUN NEWS
Kevin Snow is not exactly a gay comic. Not exactly.
;;;; This 38-year-old funny man, who is appearing through Saturday at the
Comedy Cabana on Restaurant Row, and who will emcee the Pride '98 rally in
the
Superblock area of downtown Myrtle Beach Saturday said he is a lot of
things.
He is very definitely gay, and he has been out since he was a young
man
growing up in Birmingham Ala.
;;;; And he is certainly a comic, an A-list stand-up performer since 1989
who
has appeared at The Improv, The Comedy Store at the Vail National Comedy
Festival in Colorado, and numerous other top venues.
;;;; But sometimes Snow, 38, also is an industrial engineering teacher, a
political activist, the host of Interact with Kevin Snow, an Internet radio
program at www.planetout.com; and a born-and-bred Southern boy who is
proud of
his roots.
;;;;
What he is, Snow said, is honest.
;;;; Sitting in the Cabana Thursday morning after a press conference with
Pride '98 organizers, Snow recounted his upbringing, and how his family
taught
him by example that people are nothing more or less than who they are.
"I'm really, really strongly connected to the South," Snow said.
Sipping coffee with his Marlboro Lights, this tall young man with
short
hair and the start of a goatee talked excitedly about his family, and how
he
never understood growing up that being gay could make him the target of
prejudice.
;;
; ; In fact, Snow said, his first experiences with homophobia came when he
moved to San Francisco.
;
; ; ; Epithets and prejudice do hurt his feelings, Snow said, but he is
comfortable with who he is. And as a comic, he wants to help other people
learn to be comfortable.
;;;
; "Humor is a wonderful vehicle for social change," he said. "Ideas
are
less threatening when they're funny."
;
;
; ; And seemingly everything has a funny side to Snow. As he speaks, he
punctuates his statements with humorous asides.
;;; ; Almost any topic is fair game, whether he is discussing his concern
about
the negative stereotyping of "rednecks" ("Rednecks are just
existentialists
with guns They see red lights as more of a suggestion, for example"),
or
religious hypocrisy ("Going to church makes you a Christian as much as
going
to McDonald's makes you Mayor McCheese."), or gay rights ("Do we want
special rights? Yeah I want the right to wear purple sequins before
Easter.")
;;; ; Forbidden joke topics for Snow are teen suicide, a particular cause of
his, and the squelching of freedom of expression. When local television
affiliates in Birmingham refused to air the coming-out episode of
"Ellen,"
Snow organized a "Welcome Out Ellen" party, complete with satellite feed,
which attracted thousands of participants.
;;; ; As for the suicide issue, Snow is visibly shaken by the idea of a
child
taking his own life for any reason. And many child suicides are the result
of
stress over sexual identity. Snow said gay children are seven times more
likely to attempt and succeed in a suicide than other young people. And he
wants people to know that it's okay to be honest about who you are.
;;; ; He, for example, is gay. And he is a comic. But he is a gay comic
simply
because his material deals with his experiences, many of which are related
to
the fact that he is gay. As an artist, and as a person, Snow said he must
be
totally honest.
;;;
; Snow's act, indeed, comes from the heart of his experience. He talks
about growing up outside of Birmingham in a trailer park, and about
struggling
with the question of religion as a young man. He speaks of his father, his
love life and his appearance.
;;;
; The issue of Snow's sexuality comes up, of course. For career day,
Snow
said, his father painted his tricycle pink so Snow could go as a Mary Kay
representative. He was kicked out of the Navy because when the military
said
don't ask, don't tell, he showed them. On the way to the show, he forgot
his
curling iron and had to fix his hair with his rental van's cigarette
lighter.
;;; ; And, pointing to his goatee, he asked the crowd, "How many of you
didn't
know it was Pride week in Myrtle Beach? And how many of you now think
you're
in hell and I'm the devil? Grew this just for that joke."
;
;
;
; He draws his material from what he knows, Snow said, just like any
artist. And only by being true to who he is can he communicate
effectively.
;
;
; ; "People ask me 'Why are you out?" he said. "And the answer is
simple
- I have integrity."
;
;
; ; That integrity has given Snow the strength to accomplish much of what
he
wanted in life. He is a successful stand-up comic. He is making a
difference
for the gay community with his Internet talk show and speaking engagements
across the country. He is part of a close-knit family and a devoted member
of
the gay community.
;;; ; "I'm a happy guy," he said. "If I were to stand in the middle of
U.S.
17 and get hit by a truck, I wouldn't have a single complaint."
;;; ;IF YOU GO
;;; Who: Kevin Snow
;;; ;When: 8 and 10:15 tonight and Saturday
;;; ;Where: Comedy Cabana, 9588 N. Kings Highway, Restaurant Row, Myrtle
Beach
;;; ;How much: $15
;;; ;Call: 449-HAHA (4242)
SUN NEWS, May 1, 1998
Pride98 traffic snarls expected to be minimal
By Helena Oliviero
THE SUN NEWS
Saturday's Gay Pride Festival parade, which will be concentrated in
the
superblock area of Myrtle Beach, is not expected to snarl traffic for the
entire city, Myrtle Beach police Lt. Vince Ward said Thursday.
;;; ; The parade is expected to clog only the superblock area Saturday
afternoon, sparing the rest of the city from out-of-the-ordinary traffic
woes,
Ward said.
;;;; Slated to depart from Myrtle Beach City Hall at noon, the parade will
likely last about one hour.
;;;
; The parade will head up Broadway to 11th Avenue North, swerving east
and
marching to Ocean Boulevard until Eighth Avenue North. The parade will then
swing back to Eighth Avenue north back to the superblock for a rally.
;;;
; During the parade hours, the superblock streets will be blocked off.
;;; ; Partly cloudy weather is predicted with a 20 percent chance of showers
Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington. Ward
said
rain would increase traffic troubles.
;;;
; The first signs of a traffic surge will likely be visible late today,
when many of the thousands of participants will enter the Grand Strand.
;
; ; ; "I expect a lot of the participants will be working on Friday and
will
come to Myrtle Beach at the end of their workday," Ward said.
;;;
; Late-night activities after the parade will also take a toll of the
traffic flow.
;;;
; The police department will monitor all major activities this weekend
and
will have assistance from the S.C. Highway Patrol, Horry County police and
SLE
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CREATION DATE/TIME: 2-MAY-1998 14:02:00.00
SUBJECT: NC6775: LIFE Lobby dies
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN
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TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN )
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* Reprint rights for this copyrighted news article must be obtained
*
*
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by you
from the originating news organization.
*
BAY AREA REPORTER
April 30, 1998
http://www.ebar.com/
LIFE Lobby closes its doors
by Michael R. Gorman
"I'm still catching my balance. I was caught totally off guard. I hadn't
even heard rumors of ill health," said David Mixner, the national gay,
lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) rights advocate whose conflicts with
friend Bill Clinton over the Pentagon's "don't ask; don't tell" policy
made national headlines during Clinton's first term. He was speaking of
his reaction to the announcement that California's state-wide gay rights
and AIDS/HIV lobby, The Lobby For Individual Freedom and Equality (LIFE
Lobby), would be ceasing operations by Friday, May 1.
Mixner continued, "Although I believe in a lot of options being kept open
for creating change -- government, working for candidates, running for
office, going to jail, the arts -- I militantly believe that we need a
lobby in the state capital. The right wing has a very effective lobby. We
can't assume Sheila and Carole [Assemblymembers Sheila Kuehl and Carole
Migden] can carry things alone. A lobby is absolutely a critical component
of an effective professional movement."
LIFE Lobby formed in 1986 as a statewide coalition of AIDS service and
educational organizations, originally calling itself the LIFE AIDS Lobby.
Its controlling body, the House of Delegates, was made up of
representatives from the various grassroots organizations. The board of
directors, a much smaller group, oversaw the organization and tended to
the finances of the lobby. Because AIDS issues and civil rights issues
were so inextricably intertwined at the time, the lobby eventually took on
civil rights issues related to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
community. For 12 years it has been the primary voice in the halls of the
state capitol for California's GLBT community, supporting and sometimes
helping to draft progressive legislation, and fighting to defeat
regressive bills. With its extensive network of local organizations, it
was able to rally support in virtually every legislator's district.
But the passion for policy was not always matched by a balancing passion
for raising the necessary money to fund the operations. According to one
former staffer, "When I got there, buying a Xerox machine was a six-month
project."
Rand Martin, Chief of Staff to State Senator John Vasconcellos (D-Santa
Clara) said of the lobby's financial woes, "It's been coming for a long
time. When LIFE Lobby began, it was essential to give it as broad a base
as possible to ensure credibility, but it was a model that was very
challenging. The large number of representatives on the board and in the
House of Delegates did a good job formulating policy. But it never matched
the equally important need for fundraising. In recent years the two
governing bodies gave lip service to raising money, but they never
attacked it with the same passion as they did policy. People have worked
with good intention, but you have to pay the bills."
As it turned out, for some time those bills, at least the salaries of the
staff, have been paid by Southern California publisher Bob Craig. The
executive director of LIFE Lobby, Laurie McBride has worked without a
salary for months.
'Destined for obsolescence'
On the weekend of April 18, LIFE Lobby held its quarterly meeting of the
House of Delegates (HOD), an historic event in itself because the
delegates met for the first time in the Capitol Building in Sacramento. A
faction of the leadership concerned with the continuing financial
insolvency of the organization presented a proposal to streamline the
lobby, giving more control to the board with a stipulation that board
members would raise substantial donations for the support of the lobby's
work. They proposed that the HOD give up voting for the Board and turn the
responsibility for the by-laws over to the board. The HOD would remain the
primary arbiters of policy.
As McBride summarized it, "We were trying to change the structure to
incorporate more fundraising."
The meeting was rancorous, according to some in attendance. Those against
the change accused others of a power grab. Much was made of the need to
keep the current structure, to ensure the diversity of the representation
and the breadth of the policy. Others argued that fundraising needed to be
given more emphasis on the board, or the organization simply would not
survive. There was also much discussion over whether or not to split the
issues of civil rights and AIDS/HIV, and whether there was a need to
streamline the decision-making process. In the end, the vote was to keep
the status quo.
McBride said of the stalemate, "The structure has always been unique and
has always been a challenge. The House of Delegates in this organization
has always had control. It's very hard to change something as fundamental
as who has control."
On the following Monday, Laurie McBride announced to the staff of LIFE
Lobby in its Sacramento office that the money for operating the lobby
would cease at the end of the month, and therefore the lobby would no
longer function. Two days later, on Wednesday, April 22, the members of
the gay and lesbian PAC, Capital Political Action Committee (CAPPAC),
heard the news at their annual Table Sponsor Party from LIFE delegates and
a board member. Most were taken by surprise. They learned that half of the
LIFE board had quit since the weekend.
In the days that have followed the announcement, there has been a flurry
of activity and discussion between leaders in the state trying to create
the phoenix that they hope will rise soon out of the ashes of the LIFE
Lobby.
As Assemblymember Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) put it, "It's tragic
when an organization with LIFE Lobby's important mission cannot pay its
bills. We're looking forward to a replacement that can lower the overhead
or raise the funds necessary to support our community's agenda in
Sacramento. The LIFE Lobby leaves a huge gap that must be filled."
Kuehl, Speaker Pro Tem of the California State Assembly, said of LIFE's
demise, "The structure itself was greatly at fault. The board's refusal to
change the structure forced everybody's hand." Kuehl expressed confidence
that she and her staff, Migden and her staff, gay-friendly legislators,
and the other gay and lesbian aides in the capitol, would be able to
continue the vital work of addressing, for now, the community's agenda,
but she added, "I would be extremely worried if something weren't being
organized in the wings."
McBride has indicated that she will continue to "prowl the halls" of the
capitol on a volunteer basis while discussions proceed on the replacement
for LIFE.
And as one LIFE Lobby staff member said, "I just want to make sure Lou
Sheldon doesn't have the playing field to himself."
Integral to the discussions crisscrossing the state is John Duran. He was
involved with the founding of LIFE Lobby and served as its co-chair with
San Francisco attorney Don Disler from 1987 until 1992. He says that this
week, "I'm doing a lot of lunches."
Unlike most who heard the news about LIFE, Duran was not surprised. "Last
year Laurie called and said, 'We're in trouble. I need you to come back to
the lobby.' I said no. I am the Chair of the LIFE Institute, the 501(c)3
organization that served as the educational arm of LIFE. The Institute is
still solvent and will continue, but we are prohibited from engaging in
political activity. It's a gay and lesbian think tank. We need a
corresponding organization in the political realm. But a group did look at
the financial situation after Laurie's call and told the board that
without change it was destined for obsolescence. That was coolly received.
Two months later their task force came to the same conclusion."
Reinvention time
Duran and other leaders are considering a replacement for LIFE that will
deal only with GLBT civil rights issues. They are counting on the large
AIDS/HIV services in the state to organize a separate lobby for health
issues, and Duran indicates that such discussions are beginning. AIDS
Project LA had a full-time lobbyist in Sacramento until January, when the
position became vacant. It has not yet been filled. The San Francisco AIDS
Foundation has done lobbying from its offices in San Francisco, but does
not have a full-time presence in Sacramento now that LIFE Lobby is gone.
Lafaso expressed a hope that any new organization would continue to
respond to a variety of voices. "Urban funding is okay, but the voices
from the rural areas must be heard too. I don't think there is anyone in
this day and age who thinks the only gays and lesbians whose vote depends
on gay and lesbian issues live in San Francisco or Los Angeles."
McBride hopes that the new lobbying entity will include forums throughout
the state that will draw in local representatives to air their views and
visions, but without the unwieldy decision-making apparatus of the LIFE
Lobby. And this time, it must be funded.
"People need to realize that if we are going to have a movement, we have
to invest in our work at the state level," she said. "There are 38 gay and
lesbian lobbies in the country, and all of them are critically
under-funded, with the exception of Pride Agenda New York. Their budget is
$1.6 million. The combined budgets of the other 37 is only $2.4 million.
We invest in what we care about. This work is critically important. It's
12 years since LIFE began. We have the network now. We have friends in the
legislature. We have Sheila and Carole.
"Everybody involved cares passionately about having a gay and lesbian
voice in Sacramento, but it must be one that fits the realities of the
late '90s, of the changing face of AIDS and civil rights."
Echoing McBride's ideas, Duran hopes to see the new organization create a
mode of communication similar to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's
Creating Change seminars. The meeting could happen once a year to discuss
broad policy issues.
He said, "I don't know that it makes sense anymore to have 100 people come
together every three months to argue and debate. On the big policy issues
-- marriage rights, child custody, job protection, housing -- there was
always consensus. It was only the internal politics that divided the
delegates."
Kuehl said, "I hope to see the new organization have geographical
representation, but also geographical fundraising. Let the local
representatives seek a place on the board with the expectation that they
will have to raise money. You don't have to have monied connections, but
you have to be willing to ask everybody, invest with spirit and with
resources."
Of the changes now inevitable, Rand Martin concluded, "While some people
may see this as a black day for the gay and lesbian and AIDS-affected
communities, this is actually a very essential step in the ongoing
evolution of our movement. We are always reinventing ourselves. We will
shortly see a new organization rise to meet the needs of the community as
we pass into the new millennium."
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: Doug.Case ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY. UNKNOWN
CREATION DATE/TIME: 2-MAY-1998 01:32:00.00
SUBJECT: LIFE Lobby closes its doors
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
BAY AREA REPORTER
April 30, 1998
http://www.ebar.com/
LIFE Lobby closes its doors
by Michael R. Gorman
"I'm still catching my balance. I was caught totally off guard. I hadn't
even heard rumors of ill health," said David Mixner, the national gay,
lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) rights advocate whose conflicts with
friend Bill Clinton over the Pentagon's "don't ask; don't tell" policy made
national headlines during Clinton's first term. He was speaking of his
reaction to the announcement that California's state-wide gay rights and
AIDS/HIV lobby, The Lobby For Individual Freedom and Equality (LIFE Lobby),
would be ceasing operations by Friday, May 1.
Mixner continued, "Although I believe in a lot of options being kept open
for creating change -- government, working for candidates, running for
office, going to jail, the arts -- I militantly believe that we need a
lobby in the state capital. The right wing has a very effective lobby. We
can't assume Sheila and Carole [Assemblymembers Sheila Kuehl and Carole
Migden] can carry things alone. A lobby is absolutely a critical component
of an effective professional movement."
LIFE Lobby formed in 1986 as a statewide coalition of AIDS service and
educational organizations, originally calling itself the LIFE AIDS Lobby.
Its controlling body, the House of Delegates, was made up of
representatives from the various grassroots organizations. The board of
directors, a much smaller group, oversaw the organization and tended to the
finances of the lobby. Because AIDS issues and civil rights issues were so
inextricably intertwined at the time, the lobby eventually took on civil
rights issues related to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
community. For 12 years it has been the primary voice in the halls of the
state capitol for California's GLBT community, supporting and sometimes
helping to draft progressive legislation, and fighting to defeat regressive
bills. With its extensive network of local organizations, it was able to
rally support in virtually every legislator's district.
But the passion for policy was not always matched by a balancing passion
for raising the necessary money to fund the operations. According to one
former staffer, "When I got there, buying a Xerox machine was a six-month
project."
Rand Martin, Chief of Staff to State Senator John Vasconcellos (D-Santa
Clara) said of the lobby's financial woes, "It's been coming for a long
time. When LIFE Lobby began, it was essential to give it as broad a base as
possible to ensure credibility, but it was a model that was very
challenging. The large number of representatives on the board and in the
House of Delegates did a good job formulating policy. But it never matched
the equally important need for fundraising. In recent years the two
governing bodies gave lip service to raising money, but they never attacked
it with the same passion as they did policy. People have worked with good
intention, but you have to pay the bills."
As it turned out, for some time those bills, at least the salaries of the
staff, have been paid by Southern California publisher Bob Craig. The
executive director of LIFE Lobby, Laurie McBride has worked without a
salary for months.
'Destined for obsolescence'
On the weekend of April 18, LIFE Lobby held its quarterly meeting of the
House of Delegates (HOD), an historic event in itself because the delegates
met for the first time in the Capitol Building in Sacramento. A faction of
the leadership concerned with the continuing financial insolvency of the
organization presented a proposal to streamline the lobby, giving more
control to the board with a stipulation that board members would raise
substantial donations for the support of the lobby's work. They proposed
that the HOD give up voting for the Board and turn the responsibility for
the by-laws over to the board. The HOD would remain the primary arbiters of
policy.
As McBride summarized it, "We were trying to change the structure to
incorporate more fundraising."
The meeting was rancorous, according to some in attendance. Those against
the change accused others of a power grab. Much was made of the need to
keep the current structure, to ensure the diversity of the representation
and the breadth of the policy. Others argued that fundraising needed to be
given more emphasis on the board, or the organization simply would not
survive. There was also much discussion over whether or not to split the
issues of civil rights and AIDS/HIV, and whether there was a need to
streamline the decision-making process. In the end, the vote was to keep
the status quo.
McBride said of the stalemate, "The structure has always been unique and
has always been a challenge. The House of Delegates in this organization
has always had control. It's very hard to change something as fundamental
as who has control."
On the following Monday, Laurie McBride announced to the staff of LIFE
Lobby in its Sacramento office that the money for operating the lobby would
cease at the end of the month, and therefore the lobby would no longer
function. Two days later, on Wednesday, April 22, the members of the gay
and lesbian PAC, Capital Political Action Committee (CAPPAC), heard the
news at their annual Table Sponsor Party from LIFE delegates and a board
member. Most were taken by surprise. They learned that half of the LIFE
board had quit since the weekend.
In the days that have followed the announcement, there has been a flurry of
activity and discussion between leaders in the state trying to create the
phoenix that they hope will rise soon out of the ashes of the LIFE Lobby.
As Assemblymember Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) put it, "It's tragic when
an organization with LIFE Lobby's important mission cannot pay its bills.
We're looking forward to a replacement that can lower the overhead or raise
the funds necessary to support our community's agenda in Sacramento. The
LIFE Lobby leaves a huge gap that must be filled."
Kuehl, Speaker Pro Tem of the California State Assembly, said of LIFE's
demise, "The structure itself was greatly at fault. The board's refusal to
change the structure forced everybody's hand." Kuehl expressed confidence
that she and her staff, Migden and her staff, gay-friendly legislators, and
the other gay and lesbian aides in the capitol, would be able to continue
the vital work of addressing, for now, the community's agenda, but she
added, "I would be extremely worried if something weren't being organized
in the wings."
McBride has indicated that she will continue to "prowl the halls" of the
capitol on a volunteer basis while discussions proceed on the replacement
for LIFE.
And as one LIFE Lobby staff member said, "I just want to make sure Lou
Sheldon doesn't have the playing field to himself."
Integral to the discussions crisscrossing the state is John Duran. He was
involved with the founding of LIFE Lobby and served as its co-chair with
San Francisco attorney Don Disler from 1987 until 1992. He says that this
week, "I'm doing a lot of lunches."
Unlike most who heard the news about LIFE, Duran was not surprised. "Last
year Laurie called and said, 'We're in trouble. I need you to come back to
the lobby.' I said no. I am the Chair of the LIFE Institute, the 501(c)3
organization that served as the educational arm of LIFE. The Institute is
still solvent and will continue, but we are prohibited from engaging in
political activity. It's a gay and lesbian think tank. We need a
corresponding organization in the political realm. But a group did look at
the financial situation after Laurie's call and told the board that without
change it was destined for obsolescence. That was coolly received. Two
months later their task force came to the same conclusion."
Reinvention time
Duran and other leaders are considering a replacement for LIFE that will
deal only with GLBT civil rights issues. They are counting on the large
AIDS/HIV services in the state to organize a separate lobby for health
issues, and Duran indicates that such discussions are beginning. AIDS
Project LA had a full-time lobbyist in Sacramento until January, when the
position became vacant. It has not yet been filled. The San Francisco AIDS
Foundation has done lobbying from its offices in San Francisco, but does
not have a full-time presence in Sacramento now that LIFE Lobby is gone.
Lafaso expressed a hope that any new organization would continue to respond
to a variety of voices. "Urban funding is okay, but the voices from the
rural areas must be heard too. I don't think there is anyone in this day
and age who thinks the only gays and lesbians whose vote depends on gay and
lesbian issues live in San Francisco or Los Angeles."
McBride hopes that the new lobbying entity will include forums throughout
the state that will draw in local representatives to air their views and
visions, but without the unwieldy decision-making apparatus of the LIFE
Lobby. And this time, it must be funded.
"People need to realize that if we are going to have a movement, we have to
invest in our work at the state level," she said. "There are 38 gay and
lesbian lobbies in the country, and all of them are critically
under-funded, with the exception of Pride Agenda New York. Their budget is
$1.6 million. The combined budgets of the other 37 is only $2.4 million. We
invest in what we care about. This work is critically important. It's 12
years since LIFE began. We have the network now. We have friends in the
legislature. We have Sheila and Carole.
"Everybody involved cares passionately about having a gay and lesbian voice
in Sacramento, but it must be one that fits the realities of the late '90s,
of the changing face of AIDS and civil rights."
Echoing McBride's ideas, Duran hopes to see the new organization create a
mode of communication similar to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's
Creating Change seminars. The meeting could happen once a year to discuss
broad policy issues.
He said, "I don't know that it makes sense anymore to have 100 people come
together every three months to argue and debate. On the big policy issues
-- marriage rights, child custody, job protection, housing -- there was
always consensus. It was only the internal politics that divided the
delegates."
Kuehl said, "I hope to see the new organization have geographical
representation, but also geographical fundraising. Let the local
representatives seek a place on the board with the expectation that they
will have to raise money. You don't have to have monied connections, but
you have to be willing to ask everybody, invest with spirit and with
resources."
Of the changes now inevitable, Rand Martin concluded, "While some people
may see this as a black day for the gay and lesbian and AIDS-affected
communities, this is actually a very essential step in the ongoing
evolution of our movement. We are always reinventing ourselves. We will
shortly see a new organization rise to meet the needs of the community as
we pass into the new millennium."
This message has been forwarded as a free informational service. Please do
not publish, or post in a public place on the Internet, copyrighted
material without permission and attribution. (Note: Press releases are
fine to reprint. Don't reprint wire stories, such as Associated Press
stories, in their entirety unless you subscribe to that wire service.)
Forwarding of this material should not necessarily be construed as an
endorsement of the content. In fact, sometimes messages from anti-gay
organizations are forwarded as "opposition research."
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CREATOR: Doug.Case ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN 1)
CREATION DATE/TIME: 8-MAY-1998 21:45:00.00
SUBJECT: McVeigh promoted
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 8, 1998
Gay Scandal Sailor To Be Promoted
By SUSANNE M. SCHAFER
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Navy has selected Timothy R. McVeigh for promotion to
its highest enlisted rank, only months after losing a court battle aimed at
forcing him from the service.
McVeigh, who is stationed in Hawaii, was on the Navy's list of those
selected for E-9, or master chief petty officer, for this fiscal year, said
a Navy official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Only 15 percent of those who might be eligible for advancement are chosen,
he added.
McVeigh, who is not related to the convicted Oklahoma City bomber with a
similar name, was dismissed in December on charges he is homosexual and
engaged in sodomy.
The 36-year-old veteran of 18 years in the Navy has not commented on his
sexuality.
Pentagon policy allows dismissal of someone who discloses he is gay, but
the military cannot raise the issue without sufficient cause.
U.S. District Judge Stanley Sporkin ruled in January that the Navy went too
far in investigating McVeigh, who was linked to an anonymous America Online
Inc. computer profile page that suggested he had a sexual interest in young
men.
The judge also said the Navy violated the 1986 Electronic Communications
Privacy Act by obtaining confidential information about McVeigh from AOL
without a warrant or court order.
In March, Sporkin told the Navy it had to comply with his order reinstating
McVeigh and giving him the right to continue managing nuclear attack
submarines. McVeigh had been assigned to clerical work rather than his
supervisory post.
Sporkin set a June 1 hearing, giving the Navy two months to comply with his
January order in which he said the Navy wrongly enforced the Pentagon's
``don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.
At the time, a government attorney said the Navy intended to fully
reinstate McVeigh.
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CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN 1)
CREATION DATE/TIME: 9-MAY-1998 16:15:00.00
SUBJECT: NC6838: McVeigh promoted
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
* Reprint rights for this copyrighted news article must be obtained
*
*
--->
by you
from the originating news organization.
*
Gay Scandal Sailor To Be Promoted
.c The Associated Press
By SUSANNE M. SCHAFER
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Navy has selected Timothy R. McVeigh for promotion
to its highest enlisted rank, only months after losing a court battle
aimed at forcing him from the service.
McVeigh, who is stationed in Hawaii, was on the Navy's list of those
selected for E-9, or master chief petty officer, for this fiscal year,
said a Navy official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Only 15 percent of those who might be eligible for advancement are chosen,
he added.
McVeigh, who is not related to the convicted Oklahoma City bomber with a
similar name, was dismissed in December on charges he is homosexual and
engaged in sodomy.
The 36-year-old veteran of 18 years in the Navy has not commented on his
sexuality.
Pentagon policy allows dismissal of someone who discloses he is gay, but
the military cannot raise the issue without sufficient cause.
U.S. District Judge Stanley Sporkin ruled in January that the Navy went
too far in investigating McVeigh, who was linked to an anonymous America
Online Inc. computer profile page that suggested he had a sexual interest
in young men.
The judge also said the Navy violated the 1986 Electronic Communications
Privacy Act by obtaining confidential information about McVeigh from AOL
without a warrant or court order.
In March, Sporkin told the Navy it had to comply with his order
reinstating McVeigh and giving him the right to continue managing nuclear
attack submarines. McVeigh had been assigned to clerical work rather than
his supervisory post.
Sporkin set a June 1 hearing, giving the Navy two months to comply with
his January order in which he said the Navy wrongly enforced the
Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.
At the time, a government attorney said the Navy intended to fully
reinstate McVeigh.
AP-NY-05-08-98 1841EDT
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CREATOR: Doug.Case ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY. [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME: 9-MAY-1998 14:18:00.00
SUBJECT: Pentagon accused of anti-gay drumbeat
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
May 9, 1998
http://www.uniontrib.com/
Pentagon accused of anti-gay drumbeat
Critics cite 'don't ask, don't tell' violations
By Mark Sauer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Jennifer Dorsey and Barry Waldrop are once again civilians after deciding
to come out of the closet.
The question is whether they were forced out.
Dorsey and Waldrop are among the thousands of men and women discharged from
the military under the "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" policy for
gays and lesbians.
The Pentagon says most are young men and women serving their first tour of
duty who decided to leave the service by voluntarily "coming out," knowing
they would be swiftly investigated and given honorable or general
discharges.
But critics of the policy say many homosexuals who want to serve their
country are illegally questioned by superiors or harassed by colleagues to
the point where they have no choice but to come out and get out.
These conflicting interpretations of why 997 people were discharged last
year alone -- up from 597 in 1994 -- are reflected in recent assessments by
the Pentagon and by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, or SLDN, a
gay and lesbian advocacy group based in Washington.
The Pentagon's report, released last month, formally examines the policy
for the first time since it was hammered out nearly five years ago by
President Clinton, Gen. Colin Powell and congressional leaders from both
parties.
"There were one or two, maybe three, cases where (the review) found there
had been problems," chief Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon told reporters,
referring to commanders who had clearly violated the policy.
The military's conclusion stands in sharp contrast to SLDN's fourth annual
"Conduct Unbecoming" report, released two months ago. The group's 1996
report prompted Defense Secretary William Cohen to order the Pentagon's
review of "don't ask, don't tell."
SLDN, which defends alleged gays and lesbians in military discharge
hearings, reported that violations of "don't ask, don't tell" were up
dramatically last year over 1996, with the Navy being the worst offender,
followed closely by the Air Force.
Enacted in early 1994 after extensive congressional hearings, the Defense
Department policy still provides that engaging in homosexual conduct is
grounds for discharge from the military.
The reason, the government says, is that those with a propensity to engage
in such conduct create an unacceptable risk to morale, good order and
discipline and unit cohesion.
But applicants to the armed forces should not be asked about their sexual
orientation, the policy states, and commanders may initiate investigations
only after receiving credible information regarding homosexual conduct,
such as a person stating his or her homosexuality, committing a homosexual
act or entering into a gay marriage.
Investigations based on rumor or mere suspicion are forbidden.
According to the Pentagon report, 82 percent of the 997 discharges last
year were "statement cases," in which service members voluntarily "came
out," or were forced out by another person's accusation: "My roommate told
me he is gay."
Of these statement cases, 58 percent involved enlisted personnel with less
than one year of service.
(The remaining 18 percent of 1997 discharges were "acts cases," in which
service members were in same-sex marriages, or discovered to be engaging in
homosexual acts, the Pentagon reported.)
"The key phrase in the report is, 'the services believe' that most
statement cases are people voluntarily identifying themselves to their
commanders as being homosexual," Col. Dick Bridges, a senior Pentagon
spokesman, said in an interview. "There is no way to really know."
Some observers have suggested, Bridges said, that because the military
services are having trouble retaining personnel in the face of a booming
economy, the increase in gay discharges from statement cases might be a
reflection of young people simply seeking greener pastures. Or that maybe
they are simply homesick.
"We don't have the empirical evidence to support that," he said. "But there
is no way to investigate the reasons behind every single person who makes a
statement that they are gay. We can't ask because that's precisely what the
policy forbids."
Military critics, meanwhile, scoff at the notion that young service members
are using "don't ask, don't tell" as a springboard out of the service.
"There are a lot easier ways to get out of the military than labeling
yourself as gay, something that will follow you for the rest of your life,"
said Michelle Benecke, a former Army captain and co-director of SLDN, which
favors lifting the ban on gays in the military entirely.
"The bottom line is that the Pentagon is misleading people by saying gays
are spontaneously coming out" she said. "We have documented hundreds of
incidences where commanders have asked, pursued and harassed people in
direct violation of law.
"We have this from the military's own investigations. Surely they know why
people like Jennifer Dorsey and Barry Waldrop are making statements."
Dorsey and Waldrop are among the dozen or so ex-military personnel who
chronicled the circumstances of their "statement cases" in an effort to
help SLDN expose what they say is deliberate violations of the policy's
intent.
Their versions of what happened go unchallenged by the Pentagon because the
military spokesman declined to comment on individual cases.
Dorsey, enrolled in an Air Force advanced-training program, entered a
darkened latrine in her dorm at Fort Meade, Md., one night and was beaten
by three servicewomen who called her a "sick dyke," according to her
affidavit.
She sought help from her commander, Dorsey said, but instead was told: "If
that's your lifestyle, you had better cease and desist."
Dorsey said she also endured death threats and "vile insults," which she
reported to no avail.
Soon after transferring to Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara
County, Dorsey said, rumors began again about her sexual orientation. The
final straw was when an Air Force psychiatrist, counseling her for grief
following her grandmother's death, suddenly asked: "Hypothetically, are you
a lesbian?"
"I knew then that the only way to protect myself and retain my dignity
would be to come out to the military and be discharged," Dorsey said. "The
asking and harassment would never cease."
Sailor Barry Waldrop, meanwhile, returned to his rack on the aircraft
carrier Eisenhower one night last fall to find "You're a Dead Faggot"
written in indelible ink, according to his SLDN affidavit.
Then came a note: "Leave or Die Fag," then the message "Leave Fag" written
"in ketchup, like blood," he said.
Waldrop said he reported the incidents to his superiors in Norfolk, Va. He
said his complaints were never investigated. But he was, and he soon found
himself discharged from the Navy.
"I am willing to put my life on the line for my country," Waldrop said. "I
am not willing to put my life on the line for gay-bashers, or for
commanders who won't follow the rules."
Pentagon spokesman Bridges declined to discuss individual cases. But he
said the military investigates all harassment complaints "and the soldier
may not see what's been done based on the allegations he or she made."
He added, "People offering statements to SLDN may have a different view,
and we may not agree with their view of events."
Benecke of the SLDN did commend the Pentagon for recommendations it made in
its report to improve implementation of "don't ask, don't tell," including
requiring commanders to check with superiors before investigating gays and
going after the alleged perpetrator instead of the victim in harassment
cases.
SLDN reported 124 "don't ask" violations last year, including a naval
officer who employed a "homosexual/bisexual questionnaire," an Air Force
officer who interrogated a staff sergeant's roommates, and an Army drill
sergeant who frightened recruit Robin Chatelle into a critical admission.
The instructor warned recruits that they had to come forward with all
"skeletons" in their past or they could face harsh punishment, even
court-martial, Chatelle said.
She disclosed that she had once confided to a high school counselor that
she was struggling with her sexual orientation.
"You shouldn't have told me that," she said her drill sergeant replied, and
Chatelle said she was soon processed for discharge.
Military psychotherapists and chaplains also "outed" service members in
1997, SLDN reported. And, it said, "don't pursue" was violated many times
when inquiry officers questioned family and friends of suspected service
members for corroboration of their alleged sexual orientation.
Sometimes the statements of jilted lovers or disgruntled roommates result
in a service member's discharge, as former Air Force member Sonya Harden
discovered.
Harden thought she was being summoned to her commander's office to be
interviewed about her officer-training candidacy at Eglin Air Force Base in
Florida.
Instead, she was read her rights and charged with sodomy based on an
allegation made by a former roommate "in a dispute over shared housing
expenses," Harden said in an SLDN affidavit.
"Once the accusation was made, there was no stopping the runaway train of
the investigation and discharge process," she said.
"It did not matter that I had received numerous commendations and awards.
It did not matter that my accuser retracted her allegations in a sworn
affidavit and testified that the allegations were false.
"And it did not matter that I produced witnesses to testify as to
heterosexual relationships in which I had been involved.
"When your command makes up its mind that the allegation is true, even in
the face of very strong evidence, your days in the service are numbered."
This message has been forwarded as a free informational service. Please do
not publish, or post in a public place on the Internet, copyrighted
material without permission and attribution. (Note: Press releases are
fine to reprint. Don't reprint wire stories, such as Associated Press
stories, in their entirety unless you subscribe to that wire service.)
Forwarding of this material should not necessarily be construed as an
endorsement of the content. In fact, sometimes messages from anti-gay
organizations are forwarded as "opposition research."
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME:10-MAY-1998 09:07:00.00
SUBJECT: NC6850: Ask, Pursue, Harass
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
* Reprint rights for this copyrighted news article must be obtained
*
*
by you
from the originating news organization.
*
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, May 9, 1998
P.O. Box 191,San Diego,CA,92112-4106
(Fax 619-293-1440)(E-MAIL:
[email protected])(http://www.uniontrib.com)
Pentagon accused of anti-gay drumbeat
Critics cite 'don't ask, don't tell' violations
By Mark Sauer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Jennifer Dorsey and Barry Waldrop are once again civilians after
deciding to come out of the closet.
The question is whether they were forced out.
Dorsey and Waldrop are among the thousands of men and women discharged
from the military under the "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" policy
for gays and lesbians.
The Pentagon says most are young men and women serving their first tour
of duty who decided to leave the service by voluntarily "coming out,"
knowing they would be swiftly investigated and given honorable or general
discharges.
But critics of the policy say many homosexuals who want to serve their
country are illegally questioned by superiors or harassed by colleagues to
the point where they have no choice but to come out and get out.
These conflicting interpretations of why 997 people were discharged
last year alone -- up from 597 in 1994 -- are reflected in recent
assessments by the Pentagon and by the Servicemembers Legal Defense
Network, or SLDN, a gay and lesbian advocacy group based in Washington.
The Pentagon's report, released last month, formally examines the
policy for the first time since it was hammered out nearly five years ago
by President Clinton, Gen. Colin Powell and congressional leaders from
both parties.
"There were one or two, maybe three, cases where (the review) found
there had been problems," chief Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon told
reporters, referring to commanders who had clearly violated the policy.
The military's conclusion stands in sharp contrast to SLDN's fourth
annual "Conduct Unbecoming" report, released two months ago. The group's
1996 report prompted Defense Secretary William Cohen to order the
Pentagon's review of "don't ask, don't tell."
SLDN, which defends alleged gays and lesbians in military discharge
hearings, reported that violations of "don't ask, don't tell" were up
dramatically last year over 1996, with the Navy being the worst offender,
followed closely by the Air Force.
Enacted in early 1994 after extensive congressional hearings, the
Defense Department policy still provides that engaging in homosexual
conduct is grounds for discharge from the military.
The reason, the government says, is that those with a propensity to
engage in such conduct create an unacceptable risk to morale, good order
and discipline and unit cohesion.
But applicants to the armed forces should not be asked about their
sexual orientation, the policy states, and commanders may initiate
investigations only after receiving credible information regarding
homosexual conduct, such as a person stating his or her homosexuality,
committing a homosexual act or entering into a gay marriage.
Investigations based on rumor or mere suspicion are forbidden.
According to the Pentagon report, 82 percent of the 997 discharges last
year were "statement cases," in which service members voluntarily "came
out," or were forced out by another person's accusation: "My roommate told
me he is gay."
Of these statement cases, 58 percent involved enlisted personnel with
less than one year of service.
(The remaining 18 percent of 1997 discharges were "acts cases," in
which service members were in same-sex marriages, or discovered to be
engaging in homosexual acts, the Pentagon reported.)
"The key phrase in the report is, 'the services believe' that most
statement cases are people voluntarily identifying themselves to their
commanders as being homosexual," Col. Dick Bridges, a senior Pentagon
spokesman, said in an interview. "There is no way to really know."
Some observers have suggested, Bridges said, that because the military
services are having trouble retaining personnel in the face of a booming
economy, the increase in gay discharges from statement cases might be a
reflection of young people simply seeking greener pastures. Or that maybe
they are simply homesick.
"We don't have the empirical evidence to support that," he said. "But
there is no way to investigate the reasons behind every single person who
makes a statement that they are gay. We can't ask because that's precisely
what the policy forbids."
Military critics, meanwhile, scoff at the notion that young service
members are using "don't ask, don't tell" as a springboard out of the
service.
"There are a lot easier ways to get out of the military than labeling
yourself as gay, something that will follow you for the rest of your
life," said Michelle Benecke, a former Army captain and co-director of
SLDN, which favors lifting the ban on gays in the military entirely.
"The bottom line is that the Pentagon is misleading people by saying
gays are spontaneously coming out" she said. "We have documented hundreds
of incidences where commanders have asked, pursued and harassed people in
direct violation of law.
"We have this from the military's own investigations. Surely they know
why people like Jennifer Dorsey and Barry Waldrop are making statements."
Dorsey and Waldrop are among the dozen or so ex-military personnel who
chronicled the circumstances of their "statement cases" in an effort to
help SLDN expose what they say is deliberate violations of the policy's
intent.
Their versions of what happened go unchallenged by the Pentagon because
the military spokesman declined to comment on individual cases.
Dorsey, enrolled in an Air Force advanced-training program, entered a
darkened latrine in her dorm at Fort Meade, Md., one night and was beaten
by three servicewomen who called her a "sick dyke," according to her
affidavit.
She sought help from her commander, Dorsey said, but instead was told:
"If that's your lifestyle, you had better cease and desist."
Dorsey said she also endured death threats and "vile insults," which
she reported to no avail.
Soon after transferring to Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara
County, Dorsey said, rumors began again about her sexual orientation. The
final straw was when an Air Force psychiatrist, counseling her for grief
following her grandmother's death, suddenly asked: "Hypothetically, are
you a lesbian?"
"I knew then that the only way to protect myself and retain my dignity
would be to come out to the military and be discharged," Dorsey said. "The
asking and harassment would never cease."
Sailor Barry Waldrop, meanwhile, returned to his rack on the aircraft
carrier Eisenhower one night last fall to find "You're a Dead Faggot"
written in indelible ink, according to his SLDN affidavit.
Then came a note: "Leave or Die Fag," then the message "Leave Fag"
written "in ketchup, like blood," he said.
Waldrop said he reported the incidents to his superiors in Norfolk, Va.
He said his complaints were never investigated. But he was, and he soon
found himself discharged from the Navy.
"I am willing to put my life on the line for my country," Waldrop said.
"I am not willing to put my life on the line for gay-bashers, or for
commanders who won't follow the rules."
Pentagon spokesman Bridges declined to discuss individual cases. But he
said the military investigates all harassment complaints "and the soldier
may not see what's been done based on the allegations he or she made."
He added, "People offering statements to SLDN may have a different
view, and we may not agree with their view of events."
Benecke of the SLDN did commend the Pentagon for recommendations it
made in its report to improve implementation of "don't ask, don't tell,"
including requiring commanders to check with superiors before
investigating gays and going after the alleged perpetrator instead of the
victim in harassment cases.
SLDN reported 124 "don't ask" violations last year, including a naval
officer who employed a "homosexual/bisexual questionnaire," an Air Force
officer who interrogated a staff sergeant's roommates, and an Army drill
sergeant who frightened recruit Robin Chatelle into a critical admission.
The instructor warned recruits that they had to come forward with all
"skeletons" in their past or they could face harsh punishment, even court-
martial, Chatelle said.
She disclosed that she had once confided to a high school counselor
that she was struggling with her sexual orientation.
"You shouldn't have told me that," she said her drill sergeant replied,
and Chatelle said she was soon processed for discharge.
Military psychotherapists and chaplains also "outed" service members in
1997, SLDN reported. And, it said, "don't pursue" was violated many times
when inquiry officers questioned family and friends of suspected service
members for corroboration of their alleged sexual orientation.
Sometimes the statements of jilted lovers or disgruntled roommates
result in a service member's discharge, as former Air Force member Sonya
Harden discovered.
Harden thought she was being summoned to her commander's office to be
interviewed about her officer-training candidacy at Eglin Air Force Base
in Florida.
Instead, she was read her rights and charged with sodomy based on an
allegation made by a former roommate "in a dispute over shared housing
expenses," Harden said in an SLDN affidavit.
"Once the accusation was made, there was no stopping the runaway train
of the investigation and discharge process," she said.
"It did not matter that I had received numerous commendations and
awards. It did not matter that my accuser retracted her allegations in
a
sworn affidavit and testified that the allegations were false.
"And it did not matter that I produced witnesses to testify as to
heterosexual relationships in which I had been involved.
"When your command makes up its mind that the allegation is true, even
in the face of very strong evidence, your days in the service are
numbered."
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN 1)
CREATION DATE/TIME:11-MAY-1998 22:13:00.00
SUBJECT: NC6858: GLAADLines May 11, 1998
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
GLAADLINES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 11, 1998
contact: Don Romesburg
(415) 861-2244
[email protected]
http://www.glaad.org
News and Breaking Stories about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
Community
NAVY TO PROMOTE "DON'T ASK, DON'T AOL" SAILOR: Just months after losing a
court decision for breaking the government's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't
Pursue" policy in pushing officer Timothy R. McVeigh out of military
service, the Navy has selected him to be promoted to its highest enlisted
rank. In January, U.S. District Court Judge Stanley Sporkin ruled the Navy
broke its own rules in investigating McVeigh, especially in seeking out his
America Online (AOL) screen name identity. The judge further stated the
Navy had violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act by seeking the
AOL information without a court order. McVeigh, an 18-year Navy veteran,
was part of only 15 percent of those eligible for promotion to Master Chief
Petty Officer. "I see this as a very positive development, and McVeigh has
a stellar record," said Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) Staff
Attorney Dixon Osborne. "I'm pleased that the Navy has seen fit to promote
him." At a June 1 hearing, Judge Sporkin will determine whether or not the
Navy has complied with his order to reinstate McVeigh in the same or a
comparable capacity. For more information contact Dixon Osborne (SLDN) at
(202) 328-3244.
SCOUTS GAMBLE ON FUTURE WITH SELECTIVE POLICY ENFORCEMENT: Despite
exclusionary policies which ban gay youth and atheists from becoming Boy
Scouts, ostensibly because it goes against policy, the Boy Scouts of
America (BSA) have flagrantly ignored another policy in order to honor an
owner of numerous gambling casinos. At a recent fundraiser, the Boulder Dam
Area Council of the BSA awarded Las Vegas mogul E. Parry Thomas the "Good
Scout Award," even though the Cub Scout Leader Book explicitly opposes
gambling, and the BSA Finance Division adds that "General guidelines for
money-earning projects include no gambling." The event was held at the
Treasure Island Gambling Casino. In addition, the BSA faced a protest of
concerned parents and defenders of diversity at the May 9 Orange County
(California) Scout-O-Rama. On May 6, the Berkeley (California) City Council
voted 8-1 to deny free marina space to the Sea Scouts, an affiliate of the
BSA, because local ordinances make it illegal to discriminate on the basis
of sexual orientation or religion. In addition, the BSA is facing mounting
pressure to provide equal access to all boys from Scouting For All, an
organization headed by 13-year-old Boy Scout Steven Cozza. "The BSA does
not have a policy of excluding gays from scouting," said Scouting for All's
Scott Cozza, Steven's father. "Steven himself started the Scouting for All
movement based on Scout law, believing that you should treat others as you
yourself would like to be treated. I don't think anyone would like to be
discriminated against. The Boy Scouts of America are not being consistent
in adhering to their own law." On May 12, Steven Cozza will be honored at a
San Francisco benefit for his "courageous effort to end the Boy Scouts'
anti-gay discrimination." For more information contact Scott Cozza
(Scouting For All) at (707) 778-0564.
PENNSYLVANIA PUSHES FOR CIVIL RIGHTS FOR ALL: On the heels of a successful
May 7 Philadelphia City Council vote for domestic partnership benefits for
lesbian and gay city workers and tax-breaks for recognized same-sex couples
throughout the city, fair-minded Pennsylvanians are seeking support for the
Pennsylvania Civil Rights Initiative. The Initiative is focused on the
introduction and adoption of twin civil rights bills to amend the
Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and the Pennsylvania Fair Educational
Opportunities Act to include "sexual orientation" as a category in which
people would be protected from discrimination. Currently, the Initiative is
supported by nearly 30 diverse state organizations, the National Black
Lesbian and Gay Leadership Council, the National Lesbian and Gay Health
Association and the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. Organizers
hope to have the Initiative introduced into the State Senate by early June.
For more information contact Rita Addessa (Executive Director,
Philadelphia
Lesbian and Gay Task Force) at (215) 772-2001.
VICTORY FUND ENDORSES 27 GAY CANDIDATES NATIONWIDE: In a number of upcoming
elections around the country, openly lesbian and gay candidates will enjoy
endorsements from the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, who recently announced
12 newly-chosen candidates, bringing their supported total to 27. Among the
12 latest to receive Victory Fund support are: Matt Solberg [I] for
Lexington (KY) County Council, Bonnie Dumais [R] for San Diego Superior
Court, Steve May [R] for Arizona State House, Evelyn Mantilla [D] for
Connecticut State House and Andrew Reyes [D] for Mecklenburg (NC) City
Council [See below]. "The incredible depth and breadth of this formidable
slate of candidates shows how far our community has come in the political
arena," said Victory Fund Executive Director Brian Bond. For more
information contact Kathleen DeBold (Victory Fund) at (202) 842-8679.
VOTERS DUMP MECKLENBURG ANTI-GAY "GANG OF 5": In a county where for the
past year arts and education were held captive by a zealous radical
religious group of county commissioners bent on an anti-gay agenda, voters
in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, primaries disbanded the "Gang of 5."
One member of the gang, Commissioner George Higgins (R-Dist. 5), was
trounced by challenger Tom Cox. He will face openly gay Democratic
candidate Andrew Reyes in the general November election. Councilmember
Hoyle Martin (R-Dist. 2) lost his seat, but is attempting to get on the
November ballot as an independent candidate. The other three won, but
according to local observers, Tom Bush [R], who leads the field of the
at-large position, faces strong competition from both Democrats and
Republicans. "Voters are tired of the direction they [the Gang of 5] were
headed in," said Jerry Fox, Assistant Campaign Manager for Reyes. "But
we're not finished. We need to make sure to elect those who will make real
change." For more information contact Andrew Reyes at (704) 367-1489.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is the nation's
lesbian & gay multimedia advocacy organization. GLAAD promotes fair,
accurate, and inclusive representation as a means of challenging
discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. To subscribe
contact Don Romesburg at (415) 861-2244 or at [email protected]. "GLAAD"
and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks
of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
[email protected]
TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at
1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report
through our Alertline Online.
TO JOIN GLAAD AND RECEIVE GLAAD's DISPATCH AND QUARTERLY IMAGES MAGAZINE,
call 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or join on the Web today at
www.glaad.org/glaad/join/join-about.html-
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INFT@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN 1)
CREATION DATE/TIME:13-MAY-1998 04:24:00.00
SUBJECT: NC6877: McVeigh promotion today
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 12, 1998 - 7PM EDT
Contact: John Aravosis, 202/328-5707
MCVEIGH TO BECOME MASTER CHIEF PETTY OFFICER
Advocates ask that Navy appeal be dropped
It has just been learned that at 7AM Hawaii time (1PM Eastern Daylight
Time), Wednesday, May 12, Senior Chief Petty Officer Timothy McVeigh will
be granted the uniform and rank of Master Chief Petty Officer in Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii. In view of the Navy's recent attempt to discharge Senior
Chief McVeigh, and McVeigh's subsequent victory in federal court in which
the Navy was found guilty of violating the federal Electronic
Communications Privacy Act and the President's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell,
Don't Pursue" policy, advocates are asking that the Navy's entire case
against McVeigh now be dropped.
McVeigh is one of only 16 electronic technicians selected for the new
Master Chief Petty Officer rank, out of an eligible pool of 168 sailors
worldwide. Wednesday's "frocking ceremony" permits him to wear the
uniform and have the privileges of his new rank as Master Chief, while the
actual "promotion" and salary benefits commensurate with the position will
not come for several months, as is standard Navy policy.
Earlier this year, the Defense Department attempted to discharge Senior
Chief McVeigh after Naval investigators violated federal wire-tap law in
obtaining the sailors' confidential email account information from America
Online. The illegally obtained evidence led the Navy to conclude that
McVeigh was gay - it also led a federal judge on January 29th of this year
to rule that the Navy had gone on an improper "search and destroy" mission
against the 18-year veteran, and to order the Navy to reinstate him. The
Clinton Administration subsequently appealed the ruling.
Asked to comment on his new position, the highest enlisted rank in the US
Navy, McVeigh responded from his home in Hawaii: "I feel great, I have
worked extremely hard for 18 years to keep Navy submarines mission ready
and make them a better place for sailors to work. I look forward to
continuing that challenging job." While clearly pleased about his
imminent promotion, Senior Chief McVeigh asked to be permitted to
congratulate the other new Master Chiefs as well: "I would like to take a
moment to congratulate the other senior chief petty officers who were on
the same list and selected for advancement as well."
Online advocates and others following the high-profile McVeigh scandal are
now asking the Pentagon and the White House to drop their appeal against
the sailor. "The simple truth is that when the Navy took politics and
prejudice out of the equation, it found Senior Chief McVeigh deserving of
its highest rank," said John Aravosis, an online strategist assisting
McVeigh with his case. "It would now be the height of hypocrisy, not to
mention an incredible waste of taxpayer dollars, for the Clinton
Administration to promote Senior Chief McVeigh with one breath and kick
him out with the other."
In spite of the Pentagon brass' concerted campaign to end the sailor's
lifetime of service to his country, McVeigh's advancement to such a senior
position comes as no surprise to those familiar with his outstanding
record. In his performance reviews, available on his Web site, McVeigh's
commanders had nothing but praise for his performance:
* "As Chief of Boat, he has been a superior leader whose innate ability to
motivate, inspire and train personnel significantly improved productivity
and command performance." * "His stellar appearance and positive influence
make him an outstanding role model, and his embodiment of Navy core values
guarantees success." * "Ranked number 1 and recommended for early
promotion." * "Best diving officer of the watch, demonstrated poise and
exceptional shiphandling skills." * "Directly responsible for high crew
morale (and) for order and discipline." * "McVeigh's inspirational
leadership permeates throughout my command." * "His example has fostered
unparalleled productivity and esprit de corps." * "Unfailing
diligence total dedication to excellence an invaluable asset to the
Navy promote now!"
"When you read his performance reviews and then look at the way the
Clinton Administration has treated him, it's actually rather sad," said
Aravosis. "Here's a guy who's done his job, served his country, and even
moved in with his mother in order to care for her after a recent heart
attack - and all the Clinton Administration and Pentagon brass can think
about is ruining his career and destroying his life."
"America needs good sailors," said Aravosis. "The Navy made a mistake in
going after Timothy McVeigh. Let's hope his promotion is a sign that
they've finally decided to move on and leave this American hero alone."
Senior Chief McVeigh's frocking ceremony is to take place at 7AM
Wednesday, May 12, 1998 at the Naval Submarine Training Center Pacific,
Pearl Harbor, HI, on North Road. Any press desiring to attend would be
required to get approval from the Submarine Force Pacific Fleet Public
Affairs Office. The phone number is (808) 471-0911, contact: Commander
Betsy Bird, submarine force pacific fleet public affairs officer.
###
John Aravosis
Wired Strategies - Online Advocacy Consulting
Washington, DC
202/328-5707 tel.
202/328-5708 fax
http://www.wiredstrategies.com
mailto:[email protected]
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: rwockner ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY [ UNKNOWN 1)
CREATION DATE/TIME:14-MAY-1998 02:54:00.00
SUBJECT: NC6892: Star-Bulletin on McVeigh media ban
TO: Richard Socarides ( Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN 1)
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
* Reprint rights for this copyrighted news article must be obtained
*
*
by you
from the originating news organization.
*
HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN
P.O. Box 3080
Honolulu, Hawai`i 96802
[email protected]
May 13, 1998
Page A3, below the fold
NAVY PROMOTES MCVEIGH TO HIGHEST ENLISTED RANK
Media are banned from the ceremony for the allegedly gay submariner
By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin
The Navy, fighting to discharge a Pearl Harbor submariner on charges he is
gay, today refused to allow the news media to attend his promotion
ceremony.
Senior Chief Petty Officer Timothy R. McVeigh was to be "frocked" this
morning at Pearl Harbor's Submarine Training Center and promoted to master
chief petty officer, the highest enlisted rank in the Navy.
But at the last moment, the Navy decided to bar the news media from
covering what is normally a routine event.
McVeigh, who is not related to the Oklahoma City bomber, last night said
he "was very disappointed."
"Normally, the Navy celebrates such an occasion because it's a chance to
show off the best it has."
Cmdr. Kevin Wensing, Navy spokesman, blamed McVeigh and Lt. Cmdr. Derreck
cole, McVeigh's military lawyer, for failing to follow proper procedures
by not informing either his commanding officer, Capt. Rob Dunn, or Cmdr.
Betsy Bird, Pacific Fleet Submarine Force spokeswoman, that the news media
were invited to the brief ceremony.
Wensing siad there were two other Navy enlisted men who were to be
"frocked" this morning, and he didn't know if they wanted such notoriety.
Wensing brushed off suggestions that the Navy was embarrassed by the
McVeigh incident or that there were directions from higher Navy officials
to keep the media away.
"The ceremony is not considered a media event," Wensing said.
Cole explained that Navy policy allows McVeigh to be "frocked: and wear
the rank of master chief, although he won't draw the pay until his orders
are posted.
"He can assume the rights and responsibilities of the position, but the
pay won't be forthcoming until he has orders," Cole said. The Navy has
said that, depending on the needs of the service, that could be anywhere
[sic] between now and next July.
The results of the promotion board were released Friday.
The decision to promote McVeigh was made solely on his record by a Navy
selection board, which was not given any information involving his legal
problems, according to a Navy spokesman.
Cole said McVeigh, 36, still has a pending June 1 court date, set after a
federal judge told the Navy to give McVeigh his old job as chief of a
nuclear submarine.
McVeigh, an 18-year veteran, was forced out of his position as senior
enlisted man on the nuclear submarine USS Chicago in November when the
Navy tried to discharge him on allegations that he is homosexual.
McVeigh, who has never commented on his sexual orientation, took his case
to court, and U.S. District Judge Stanely Sporkin ruled in January that
the Navy overstepped its bounds in its investigation.
The Navy has said that it intends to appeal Sporkin's ruling, which
prevents it from discharging McVeigh.
McVeigh is now in charge of coordinating the Pacific Fleet's submarine
training program.
Sporkin said the Navy violated the military's "don't ask don't tell"
policy on gays when it linked McVeigh to an anonymous Ameican Online Inc.
computer profile page.
The Navy also violated teh 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act by
obtaining confidential nformation about McVeigh from AOL in what Sporkin
described as an improper "search and destroy" mission, since it gathered
the data without a warrant or court order.
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: Doug.Case ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY. [ UNKNOWN ])
CREATION DATE/TIME:14-MAY-1998 02:16:00.00
SUBJECT: Navy promotes McVeigh, media banned from ceremony
TO: Richard Socarides (Richard Socarides@EOP [ UNKNOWN ])
READ:UNKNOWN
TO: Stuart D. Rosenstein ( Stuart D. Rosenstein@eop [ UNKNOWN
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN, May 13, 1998
NAVY PROMOTES MCVEIGH TO HIGHEST ENLISTED RANK
Media are banned from the ceremony for the allegedly gay submariner
By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin
The Navy, fighting to discharge a Pearl Harbor submariner on charges he
is
gay, today refused to allow the news media to attend his promotion
ceremony.
Senior Chief Petty Officer Timothy R. McVeigh was to be "frocked" this
morning at Pearl Harbor's Submarine Training Center and promoted to master
chief petty officer, the highest enlisted rank in the Navy.
But at the last moment, the Navy decided to bar the news media from
covering what is normally a routine event.
McVeigh, who is not related to the Oklahoma City bomber, last night
said he
"was very disappointed."
"Normally, the Navy celebrates such an occasion because it's a chance to
show off the best it has."
Cmdr. Kevin Wensing, Navy spokesman, blamed McVeigh and Lt. Cmdr.
Derreck
cole, McVeigh's military lawyer, for failing to follow proper procedures by
not informing either his commanding officer, Capt. Rob Dunn, or Cmdr.
Betsy
Bird, Pacific Fleet Submarine Force spokeswoman, that the news media were
invited to the brief ceremony.
Wensing siad there were two other Navy enlisted men who were to be
"frocked" this morning, and he didn't know if they wanted such notoriety.
Wensing brushed off suggestions that the Navy was embarrassed by the
McVeigh incident or that there were directions from higher Navy officials
to
keep the media away.
"The ceremony is not considered a media event," Wensing said.
Cole explained that Navy policy allows McVeigh to be "frocked: and wear
the
rank of master chief, although he won't draw the pay until his orders are
posted.
"He can assume the rights and responsibilities of the position, but the
pay
won't be forthcoming until he has orders," Cole said. The Navy has said
that,
depending on the needs of the service, that could be anywhere [sic] between
now and next July.
The results of the promotion board were released Friday.
The decision to promote McVeigh was made solely on his record by a Navy
selection board, which was not given any information involving his legal
problems, according to a Navy spokesman.
Cole said McVeigh, 36, still has a pending June 1 court date, set after
a
federal judge told the Navy to give McVeigh his old job as chief of a
nuclear
submarine.
McVeigh, an 18-year veteran, was forced out of his position as senior
enlisted man on the nuclear submarine USS Chicago in November when the Navy
tried to discharge him on allegations that he is homosexual.
McVeigh, who has never commented on his sexual orientation, took his
case
to court, and U.S. District Judge Stanely Sporkin ruled in January that the
Navy overstepped its bounds in its investigation.
The Navy has said that it intends to appeal Sporkin's ruling, which
prevents it from discharging McVeigh.
McVeigh is now in charge of coordinating the Pacific Fleet's submarine
training program.
Sporkin said the Navy violated the military's "don't ask don't tell"
policy
on gays when it linked McVeigh to an anonymous Ameican Online Inc.
computer
profile page.
The Navy also violated teh 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act by
obtaining confidential nformation about McVeigh from AOL in what Sporkin
described as an improper "search and destroy" mission, since it gathered
the
data without a warrant or court order.
This message has been forwarded as a free informational service. Please do
not publish, or post in a public place on the Internet, copyrighted
material without permission and attribution. (Note: Press releases are
fine to reprint. Don't reprint wire stories, such as Associated Press
stories, in their entirety unless you subscribe to that wire service.)
Forwarding of this material should not necessarily be construed as an
endorsement of the content. In fact, sometimes messages from anti-gay
organizations are forwarded as "opposition research."
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RECORD TYPE: FEDERAL (TRP NOTES MAIL)
CREATOR: LAGomez ([email protected]@INET@LNGTWY[UNKNOWN
CREATION DATE/TIME:15-MAY-1998 17:13:00.00
SUBJECT: fwd: SLDN's Response to DoD Review
TO: Daniel C. Montoya ( Daniel C. Montoya@eop [ UNKNOWN] )
READ:UNKNOWN
TEXT:
fyi
Original Text
From: "SLDN1" <[email protected]>, on 5/15/98 4:31 PM:
To:
May 15, 1998
ACTION ALERT.
Please write, call, fax, or e-mail Secretary Cohen, President
Clinton
and
Vice President Gore with the following critical message:
The DoD report on the implementation of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell,
Don't
Pursue"
is not and cannot be credible until DoD lets commanders know what the rules
are. Reports show that many commanders do not know that the current policy
contains limits on investigations and was intended to protect people's
privacy. The result: gay discharges soared to 997 last year, their
highest
level since 1988. DoD needs to act and to act now.
Attached you will find SLDN's letter to Secretary Cohen regarding
DoD's
report on the implementation of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue."
Also,
attached is a one page list of talking points.
We are coordinating this action with the members of the Human
Rights
Campaign
and the National Lesbian & Gay Task Force. As always, thank you for your
assistance.
Secretary of Defense William Cohen, comment via DoD web page:
http://www.defenselink.mil/faq/comment.html; voice: (703) 697-5737; fax:
(703) 695-1219; snail: 1000 Defense Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
20301-1000
President William J. Clinton, email: [email protected]; voice:
(202)
456-1111; snail: White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC
20500
Vice-President Albert Gore, [email protected], White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20500
TALKING POINTS
DOD REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
"DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL, DON'T PURSUE"
+ Gay Discharges Are Up 67%. Discharges soared to 997 in 1997, a 67%
increase
under the policy, and the highest level of discharges since 1988.
+ DoD Misrepresents Report Findings. The DoD report admits that the
reasons
for increased discharges "are not known." Yet, officials publicly
represented
that increased discharges are due to gays "opting out" of the military.
This
unsupported and offensive generalization raises questions about DoD's
credibility and commitment to fair enforcement of the policy.
+ Commands Continue To Ask, Pursue and Harass. SLDN documented 1379
instances
in four years where commanders did not follow the rules under this policy.
DoD's report is non-responsive to these documented command violations.
+ DoD Fails To Address Limits To Investigations and Intent of Policy To
Protect People's Privacy. A major problem is that personnel do not know
the
rules. DoD cannot be deemed credible until it issues guidance on the
limits
to investigations and the intent of the policy.
+ DoD Ignores Coercive Tactics. The DoD report fails to respond to
documented
instances where commanders threatened service members with prison unless
they
confessed to being gay or accused others as gay, as occurred on the USS
Simon
Lake. The report also ignored the practice of seizing personal diaries to
find out if someone is gay, as in the case of West Point Cadet Nicole
Galvan,
and the practice of questioning parents and siblings per Air Force
instructions. Secretary Cohen should end these practices.
+ DoD Fails To Address Issues of Accountability and Recourse. The report
omits
the issues of accountability for command violations and recourse for
personnel
harmed by improper inquiries.
+ DoD Did Not Interview Service Members Affected by The Policy. The
Department failed to contact one of the primary sources of information on
this
subject for its review.
+ DoD Agrees That Health Care Providers Are Not Required To Turn In Gay
People. Providers should be informed of this important clarification, a
step
the DoD report fails to recommend. Secretary Cohen should further clarify
that information confided in a health care provider should not be used for
purposes of discharge.
+ Some Recommendations are Problematic. Recommendations concerning
training
evaluations, the use of lawyers to police command actions and service
Secretary approval for some investigations raise many questions and contain
loopholes that could do more harm than good.
+ DoD Should Implement its Good Recommendations Now. The Department should
implement (1) guidance against anti-gay harassment, and (2) an end to
pretrial
agreements to solicit names of suspected gay service members, as
recommended
in the DoD report.
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May 25, 1998
Dear Secretary Cohen:
The number of discharges under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" climbed last year to its
highest level since 1988. Most members of Congress, like us, believed that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell,
Don't Pursue" would result in a decline in discharges, not an increase.
We are concerned by the report that the Department of Defense misrepresented to the public
the findings of its year-long review of the policy. The public representation was that gay discharges are
increasing because more gays are "coming out," though the report clearly states that the reasons for the
increasing discharge numbers "are not known."
Reports the past four years have suggested that one of the reasons gay discharges have climbed
is that military personnel are not following the rules and guidelines agreed to by Congress. We
understand that Servicemembers Legal Defense Network has made a very reasonable suggestion to
correct this problem. The recommendation is for the Department to issue guidance on the limits to gay
investigations and the intent of the policy to respect people's privacy using exact quotes from the
existing regulations. This is a sensible recommendation that deserves your fullest consideration.
Sincerely,
[Tape Restoration Project Hex-Dump Conversion]
SENATE
Sen. Jeff Bingaman
Sen. Barbara Boxer
Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Sen. John Chafee
Sen. Max Cleland
Sen. Alfonse D'Amato
Sen. Christopher Dodd
Sen Richard Durbin
Sen. Russell Feingold
Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Sen. Slade Gorton
Sen. Tom Harkin
Sen. Daniel Inouye
Sen. Ted Kennedy
Sen. Bob Kerrey
Sen. John Kerry
Sen. Herb Kohl
Sen. Mary Landrieu
Sen. Patrick Leahy
Sen. Carl Levin
Sen. Joseph Lieberman
Sen. McCain
Sen. Barbara Mikulski
Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun
Sen. Patty Murray
Sen. Jack Reed
[Tape Restoration Project Hex-Dump Conversion]
Sen. Charles Robb
Sen. Paul Sarbanes
Sen. Olympia Snowe
Sen. Arlen Specter
Sen. Robert Toricelli
Sen. Paul Wellstone
Sen. Ron Wyden
[Tape Restoration Project Hex-Dump Conversion]
HOUSE
Rep. Neil Abercrombie
Rep. Gary Ackerman
Rep. Bentsen
Rep. Howard Berman
Rep. George Brown
Rep. Sherrod Brown
Rep. Tom Campbell
Rep. John Conyers
Rep. Peter DeFazio
Rep. Diana DeGette
Rep. William Delahunt
Rep. Rosa DeLauro
Rep. Eliot Engel
Rep. Anna Eshoo
Rep. Lane Evans
Rep. Vic Fazio
Rep. Bob Filner
Rep. Thomas Foglietta
Rep. Mark Foley
Rep. Tillie Fowler
Rep. Barney Frank
Rep. Elizabeth Furse
Rep. Dick Gephardt
Rep. Jane Harman
Rep. Hinchey
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton
[Tape Restoration Project Hex-Dump Conversion]
Rep. Joseph Kennedy
Rep. Patrick Kennedy
Rep, Jim Kolbe
Rep. Tom Lantos
Rep. John Lewis
Rep. Nita Lowey
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
Rep. Jim McDermott
Rep. Cynthia McKinney
Rep. Marty Meehan
Rep. Carrie Meek
Rep. Patsy Mink
Rep. Constance Morella
Rep. Patrick Moyniham
Rep. Nadler
Rep. John Olver
Rep. Nancy Pelosi
Rep. Charles Rangel
Rep. Jack Reed (Westpoint grad)
Rep. Lynn Rivers
Rep. Lucille Roybal - Allard
Rep. Bobby Rush
Rep. Loretta Sanchez
Rep. Martin Sabo
Rep. Jose Serano
Rep. Christopher Shays
Rep. David Skaggs
Rep. Louise Slaughter
[Tape Restoration Project Hex-Dump Conversion]
Rep. Pete Stark
Rep. Ellen Tauscher
Rep. John Tierney
Rep. Edolphus Towns
Rep. Maxine Waters
Rep. Henry Waxman
Rep. Lynn Woolsey
[Tape Restoration Project Hex-Dump Conversion]