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Court Rules Gay Sergeant Fit For Duty
An eleven member panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled May 4 that the Army must reinstate Sergeant Perry
Watkins, a gay man who was discharged in 1984 after 14 years
of admitted exemplary service. The ruling side-stepped, however,
a previous decision that used Watkin's case to extend
constitutional civil rights protection to gays and lesbians.
The federal appeals court said the Army could not enforce its
1981 ban against homosexuals in the Watkins case because they
had re-enlisted him three times since the voluntary disclosure of
his sexual orientation when he joined the service in 1967. Legal
experts do not believe the narrowly worded decision will apply to
other cases filed against the armed forces by gays and lesbians.
Watkins was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that he
thought the decision "was a wonderful ruling." He did not, at the
time of the interview, know whether he would re-enlist. Sources
close to Watkins, however, say that he is "seriously considering
the opportunity."
Leaders of national gay/lesbian organizations called the ruling
"historic and a resounding victory in Perry Watkin's favor" that
attacked "the hypocrisy of the military system of justice."
Writing for the majority, Justice Harry Pregerson said,
"Sergeant Watkins has greatly benefited the Army, and therefore
the country, by his military' service.... In addition, Watkin's
homosexuality clearly has not hurt the Army in any way."
Quoting from an Army Review Board report, Pregerson noted
that the "morale and discipline of Watkins' unit had been
unaffected (by his sexual orientation)."
Although finding in Watkin's favor, the eleven judges ignored
a June 1988 decision that ordered Watkins reinstatement because
he was a gay man, and thus a minority deserving of protection
under civil rights laws. The 1988 decision said that Watkins'
sexual orientation made him "subject to long-standing
persecution and political powerlessness," and a minority with
similar status under civil rights laws as people of color and
women.
Sue Hyde, director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force's Privacy Project and a spokesperson with the Military
Freedom Project, said the narrowness of the ruling would
probably work in the gay/lesbian community's favor if the case is
appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Hyde said that the ruling is
so direct that legal scholars would find little way to attack it
beyond trying Watkins on his personal record alone. She would
not predict which way the Supreme Court would decide if the
case is appealed.
"The military has appealed every decision that has gone
PHOTO COURTESY ETC
Perry Watkins at the '88 Democratic National Convention in
Atlanta. His military discharge was overturned last week by a
federal court, which declared the gay sgt. an asset to the Army.
against it in respect to gay or lesbian solders," Hyde noted, "so it would
be consistent with their legal history to appeal (this case)."
Unfortunately, Hyde said, the narrowness of the ruling leaves many
gay and lesbian service members hanging with nowhere to turn. "The
court failed to understand that Watkins' case was not unique and that
there are literally thousands and thousands of gay and lesbian service
members who suffer the same kind of discrimination as he did."
"This is the first time, however, that the U.S. Army has been ordered
to re-enlist a gay or lesbian service member," noted Hyde. "The military
is being forced to acknowledge Perry Watkins as an outstanding sergeant
and that is directly contrary to what they say about homosexuals.
"Perry's case will become another brick in the wall our community is
building," Hyde added, "in our argument that sexual orientation is a non
factor when evaluating a person's ability to perform a job."
-Chris Duncan
In .CeiebratiQn of Mother’s Day
Mom Grateful for Gay Kids
Lauretta Rouse was convinced her son was dead. She'd had no contact with him for a
year. Her cards went unanswered and her phone calls to him connected her to a recording
saying his line was disconnected. Jeff, her only son, with whom she was very close-had
disappeared.
He had dropped out of the Navy and moved to Denver, Colorado, where he told her he
had gone to "work something out." That was the last she had heard from him until she got
a letter from the 22-year-old explaining where he was and what he was feeling.
"The letter said 'I love men the same way you love men' and then he asked if I would please
Lauretta Rouse continue to love him," said Mrs. Rouse. "I was hysterical. I called a friend...and then I called
him to say I loved him but I was too upset to talk. But I did want him to know I loved him."
A short time later, Mrs. Rouse received a phone call from a Denver-based group called Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
(PFLAG). Soon after that, she received a package from them containing reading materials and information to help her adjust to the
trauma Jeffs announcement had brought Jeff, now 28, had been working with PFLAG in Denver and had asked the group to contact his
mother.
"I had been around gay people before, but I just kept thinking I own this one," smiled Mrs. Rouse. "At first I thought it was a
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State Recruits
Gays to Parent
"AIDS Babies"
The question Where do I come fjom?'
may start popping up in gay/lesbian
households more often if the Georgia
Department of Human Resources (DHR)
sueceeds in its special recruitment drive to
attract gays and lesbians as foster parents
for children who have AIDS.
The new program, Foster Love, ran into
stiff criticism, however, during its debut
presentation before the Metropolitan
Atlanta Council of Gay and Lesbian
Organizations (MACGLO) April 26. Foster
Love representatives indicated that removal
of the child from a gay/lesbian home would
be among the first moves the agency would
lake if the public takes issue with the sexual
orientation of the foster parents.
MACGLO members, who supported the
program in principle, were angered by state
official's lack of foresight in this matter.
Joyce Goldberg, a DHR spokesperson,
said there were no contingency plans to deal
with homophobically motivated attacks
against the program, and admitted that her
agency had "not put a lot of thought" into
protecting the new families the program
will create. She said that agency officials
were blinded to the dilemmas raised by
placing children in a gay/lesbian household
in their zeal to help the children, over half
of whom do not have a life expectancy
greater than three years.
Goldberg said she could not commit her
agency to defend gay or lesbian parents if
homophobic elements try to have a child
removed because of the parents' sexual
orientation.
"(Gay/lesbian) families have to live in
the community at large," Goldberg said.
"And neither judges nor social workers are
immune to (societal pressures). If the child
needs a stable environment, then it may
mean having to remove the child (from the
gay/lesbian household.)"
"What we're trying to do is place these
children in loving homes," Goldberg said.
"We don't want children to languish in an
institution." If an attack were leveled
against a family, however, Goldberg said
"then we may have to place the children
somewhere else."
Foster Love is an attempt by DHR's
Division of Family and Children Services
(DFACS) and Kellogg Associates, a private
consulting firm, to recruit "minority
communities" to enter the rigorous foster
parent screening and training program.
AIDS experts estimate that the number of
pediatric AIDS cases in Georgia will
overwhelm the current foster parent system
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