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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

November 20, 1992

Court compels Navy to reinstate gay sailor

The Navy has temporarily returned to duty a gay sailor who was discharged after coming out on national TV last spring. Petty Officer Keith Meinhold returned November 12 to his post as a sonar instructor at the Moffett Field Naval Air Station near San Jose, Calif. He was returned pending the outcome of his court case challenging the constitutionality of the military's ban on gays.

Meinhold was reinstated after U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter threatened to hold the Navy in contempt for refusing to comply with an earlier order to return him to duty. "This nation is based on a consti-

tutional rule of law," Hatter said, "and the military is not excepted."

The original order was to take effect November 6, but when Meinhold reported to Moffett Field the following Monday, he was not allowed on base.

"For the first time in history, an openly gay service member [has been] returned to active duty," said Meinhold's attorney, John McGuire. "I think it's going to show the irrationality of firing homosexuals, because once he's back in, everyone will see he's just as good a sailor as he always was."

(Gay Army Sgt. Perry Watkins' dis-

President-elect Clinton says he will end military gay ban

President-elect Bill Clinton, in his first news conference after the election on November 12, reaffirmed his campaign promise to end the U.S. military's 48year-old policy of discharging gay and lesbian servicemembers.

"I am going to move forward on that," he said. "My concern here is to do it in a way that is most appropriate for the management of the whole national security and military interest of the country." Clinton added that he would consult with a number of people, including military leaders who are opposed to lifting the ban, about how to go about doing it. "But I'm not going to change my position on it," he said.

Pentagon officials have said that they are already working on plans to implement the new policy. However, many, including Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman

Gen. Colin Powell, have expressed vehement opposition to allowing gays in the military, and some have said they would resign.

The president-elect recognized that there are already many gays and lesbians in the armed forces. "We do have people who are homosexuals, who have served our country with distinction, who were never kicked out of the military," he said.

Sexual orientation alone should not disqualify people, he added. "The issue ought to be conduct--has anybody done anything that would disqualify them, whether it's the Tailhook scandal or something else." The mention of Tailhook, where male naval aviators harassed female officers, implies that all servicemembers, gay and straight, would be held to the same standards of conduct.▼

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charge was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in November 1990, but he agreed to forgo reinstatement in exchange for back pay, pension, and an honorable discharge. That ruling, which applied only to Watkins, was based on the Army's repeatedly re-enlisting him while knowing he was gay, rather than on the merits of the ban on gays itself.)

Judge Hatter said he made the temporary order to reinstate Meinhold based on the likelihood that the military's anti-gay policy will be found in violation of the Constitution's equal-protection clause when the case goes to trial. The order in itself has no effect on that policy. Hatter also granted the government's request to hear arguments on November 16 to reconsider the order.

Hatter also noted that, although Meinhold, a 12-year Navy veteran, had not hidden his sexual orientation from fellow

Canada

Continued from Page 1

evidence or witnesses to contest her lawsuit.

"It's been a long battle," Douglas said. "Today is a great day.'

Her lawyer, Clayton Ruby, said the court ruling forces the military into step with the rest of Canadian society, where discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has long been outlawed.

A spokesman for the Defense Department said an out-of-court settlement of the woman's $459,000 lawsuit was also reached October 27. He declined to reveal terms.

Capt. Marc Rouleau said the case is the first of five similar complaints scheduled to be heard by the federal court in coming weeks. He suggested the Canadian. military's policy about-face regarding lesbians and gays will have a significant bearing on the conduct of future trials.

The Ontario Court of Appeal and the Canadian Human Rights Commission have already ruled that the military's anti-gay policy violates the Charter. Human Rights Commission head Max Yalden said that the effect of the October 27 ruling extends beyond the military, and that he believes that it makes it illegal for any employer in Canada to discriminate against gays or lesbians.

Last October, the chief of defense staff dropped plans to end the no-gays policy because of a last minute revolt by some backbench members of the federal Progressive Conservative government. Rep. Gerry Studds, D-Mass., a leader in

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Meinhold said he felt certain that, before his case comes to trial, Bill Clinton will have ended the anti-gay policy. "I think we have a little history on our hands," he said. "Gays and lesbians will be able to serve openly in the military, and not worry about somebody persecuting them."

He added that the Pentagon's case for dismissing him was backward reasoning. "My job performance was never at issue. What the Defense Department was arguing was that... the supposed people who can't deal with gays and lesbians would not be able perform their tasks under the stresses of being around & homosexual. They're absolutely wrong, and I'm really sorry that some of the admirals and generals in Washington have so little faith in the troops.'

the effort to end discrimination against gay men and lesbians in the U.S. military, praised the Canadian ruling. "This is a powerful example for the United States," Studds said. "Our closest cultural neighbor and ally can find no reason to restrict military service because of sexual orientation--and the United States should follow suit. We don't have a person to waste.' A General Accounting Office report, released by Studds in June, reported that the Canadian Forces have had their policy on homosexuality under continuous review since early 1987.

Canada now joins 14 other countries which admit gays to their armed forces, many of which, along with Canada and the U.S., are members of the NATO military alliance. Japan, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands presently allow gays to serve without restrictions in their militaries. France, Germany, Belgium, and Finland allow gays to serve, but make restrictions such as limiting access to confidential documents, and excluding them from leadership roles or recruiting positions.

In the past, the Pentagon has defended the U.S. policy by claiming that allowing gays into the military would prove "incompatible with discipline, good order and morale." Studds contended the Canadian decision removes that remaining argument, and called on the Pentagon to follow the Canadian example.

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