'Gay' on trial Homosexual sergeant

HAMPTON, Va. (P) — The lawyer for T. Sgt. Leonard P. Matlovich, an admitted homosexual, told an Air Force discharge board here yesterday that the military's his toric ban on homosexuals violates their constitutional right to privacy.

The Air Force regulation calling for automatic discharge of homosexual servicemen is unlawful because it imposes "the morality of the majority on its. employes," said Susan Hewman, one of two American Civil Liberties Union lawyers representing Matlovich, 32, in the hearing that began Tuesday.

Matlovich himself prompted the hearing at Langley Air Force Base, where he is an instructor in

pleads to stay in AF

race relations, when he wrote to the secretary of the Air Force in March to admit his homosexuality.

His admission was designed to produce a test of the military regulations that prohibit retention of homosexuals by the military after their sex deviation is discovered.

The government contends that the presence of homosexuals in military ranks would hamper recruitment, destroy morale and offer foreign agents a chance for blackmail.

Matlovich's lawyer asked the discharge board of two majors, two lieutenant colonels and a colonel at the outset of the hearing Tuesday specifically to overturn the Air Force ban on homosexuals.

Her motion was denied by the board's legal adviser, Col. Robert E. Shank, 52, who serves the board the capacity of a civil court judge.

Lt. Col. John Schofield Jr., Matlovich's superior while he was stationed at Hurlburt Field in Florida, was one of the first witnesses called by the prosecution.

Schofield said he was concerned about the impression Matlovich's homosexuality might have on members of the race relations classes taught by Matlovich.

THE PLAI

Associated Press

Asked what effect Matlovich's, T. Sgt. Leonard P. Matlovich admission had on his ability as a serviceman, Schofield replied: “I consider his ability to be totally impaired."

But two enlisted men who had · worked with Matlovich in 1971 as race relations instructors in Florida disagreed.

Both told the panel they knew of Matlovich's homosexuality but felt it did not affect his ability to instruct.

Both said also that if Matlovich was the noncommissioned officer in charge they would gladly follow his orders and respect his decisions.

Matlovich, son of an Air Force sergeant, showed little emotion as the hearing which Air Force officials said might last a weekoften bogged down on technical issues in its opening hours.

Matlovich has said he is not interested in becoming a symbol of gay liberation. Most of all, he has said, he wants to be permitted to stay in the Air Force because "my heart is with the military."

Matlovich has served 12 years in the Air Force, including three tours in Vietnam, and received the Purple Heart after he was wounded.