Newspapers / Q-notes (Charlotte, N.C.) / April 18, 1998, edition 1 / Page 3
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Leaked report shows militaiy discharges up sharply Q-Notes T April 18,1998 T PAGE 3 NC PRIDE'98 ▼ NC PRIDE'98 T NC PRIDE'98 T by David Stout Q-Notes Staff "WASHINGTON, DC—According to in formation uncovered during a Department of Defense review of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” policy, discharges of gay servicemembers are up significandy. The pre liminary findings, which were leaked prior to the release of the report, did not surprise repre sentatives of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the narion’s largest gay civil rights or ganization. “Any policy that asks people to lie is bound to fail,” said Winnie Stachelberg, HRC’s Po litical Director. “The policy itself is not being followed down the chain of command and the core problem of and-gay bias goes completely unaddressed.” The leaked information indicates that there has been a 67 percent increase in the number of gay-related discharges since “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” was implemented in 1994 as a compromise between President Clinton and Congress. As written, the policy allows gays to serve so long as they do not re veal their sexual orientadon and forbids mili tary personnel from asking recruits or enlistees about the subject. The new reguladons were intended to reduce the number of gay dis charges, but as the report shows, that is not how the policy is working. However, the Department of Defense has a different perspective on the increased number of discharges, which spiked from 850 in 19% to nearly 1000 in 1997. Military spokespeople claim that the surge is due to enlistees using the policy as a means of opting out of service. Since separadons for homosexuality carry an administrative, rather than dishonorable, dis charge, they say it is an attractive option for those who want out. Gay leaders are not buying the party line. “The policy is not working because command- A minority within the gay minority by Dan Van Mourik Q-Notes Staff CHARLOTTE—Being a member of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community is not always easy. "Whether asked for or not, membership comes with a certain amount of opposition and resistance from those who do not, or choose not, to understand the many frcets of being gay. As a strongly op posed minodty, many of us remain in the doset. Often, it takes great strength to come out in the face of such adversity. But there is a segment of the GLBT com munity that has a doubly hard time opening that closet door. They are black and they are gay — a minority within a minority. One of the major hurdles for black gays and lesbians to overcome is finding the support to give them the courage to speak up for who they are. In Charlotte, there are no local black gay leaders or role models, nor any black organiza tions to address their specific concerns. The white gay community has numerous organiza tions and role models as well as a public image and several spokespeople, all in place to sup port coming out. James "W5se and Eric Norman are on their way to changing that situation. They have launched an organization called the Westside Project to create a community among black gays and lesbians and they are not reticent about sharing their views on everything from history to religion to politics to the future. “The cornerstone of the black community is the church,” Norman said. “A lot of black ministers keep telling their congregations that homosexuality is a sin. And they know that there are gay people in their churches. Black gays and lesbians still stay in the closet because they hear those things and they don’t go out into the gay community....” Wise stated the problem for black gay men is compounded by the crisis of the black straight man. Straight black men are embatded over family, social and economic issues every day. “When all those things tie in and you throw in sexual orientation and you’re talking about a group of men who don’t deal with their own sexuality on an open basis, they’re not going to be too apt to deal with us and to relate to us as black men. The black community thinks that we’re not men, that we’re less than men.” “Being a black gay man, we’re being put on the fence by the white gay community and the black straight community,” Norman said. “Both communities say I need to choose: ei ther be gay or be black; we cannot be black and gay. Most black gay people see these gay pride festivals and parades and things like that—they think that s just a white gay thing. It’s not 2igay thing; it’s a white gay thing. "When the black community sees that — and I agree with James — we are not totally men; we are not totally women. We are subordinates.” “In Charlotte, NC, we don’t have an Afri can-American gay community,” Wise said. “A lot of it has to do with the issue of being out. We don’t have many black gays and lesbians who are publicly out, or in the forefront. There aren’t any examples for anyone to follow. It’s in everyone’s best interest to be ‘in the closet,’ so to speak.” "Wise tried to work with the Charlotte Hous ing Authority a few years ago to raise aware ness about AIDS. “I wasn’t well received by the administration and I wasn’t well received by the communities themselves,” he said of that experience. Part of the mission of the Westside Project is to reach African-Americans with the message: AIDS kills and it is particularly deadly for the unprepared and the uninformed. The black community has to wake up to some political facts of life, "Wise said. “The black community loves our money. We patron ize their businesses. They want us to vote for them. But they will not accept us. Well, we’re going to put them on the burner. That’s what we’re going to do at Westside Project. We’re going after these direct issues.... "We want to go into the arena of political issues. We want to go into the arena of social issues, religious and spiritual issues and community outreach.” The Westside Project is just getting started, with only a mission statement, a mailing list and a phone number for now. To become in volved, call (704) 527-8826. T 00 CN LU ers in the field are continuing to ask and pur sue, hunting down gay servicemembers un abated,” said Stachelberg. “The military’s ex planations for the dramatic increase in dis charges are self-serving and disingenuous. Anti gay bias continues to be the core issue and the Pentagon has done nothing to address it.” The internal review was ordered by Defense Secretary William Cohen in response to pres sure from Servicemembers Legal Defense Net work (SLDN), a military watchdog group that has monitored the armed forces for compliance with the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy since it was instituted. The group’s annui reports have lambasted the Pentagon for the continuous upswing in discharges and the improper han dling of investigations at US military installa tions. C. Dixon Osburn, co-executive director of SLDN, asserts that the increases are continu ing for a simple reason: “They are not follow ing their own rules.” “We think there is a huge amount of harass ment going on. Commanders are asking ques tions they are not supposed to be asking,” he stated. Osburn said the number of servicemembers who were kicked out of the military for homo- sexuahty in 1994, the policy’s first year, was 597. That figute nearly doubled last year. In its most recent annual report, released in February, SLDN documented 563 “command violations” in 1997, including instances where servicemembers said they were asked about their sexual orientation or harassed in direct viola tion of the administration’s policy. "While one could argue that all of these prob lems stem from a lack of integrity on the parts of some military leaders, Stachelberg observed that the roots go much deeper. “Lying cannot be the cornerstone of any US policy. We need a policy that respects performance, ability, com mitment and privacy,” she said. Y HOUS^^ by Clyde Lewis to benefit NC PRIDE '98 Drawing Mag 2,1998 Oalg 1000 liekels Available! We Mast SeU 700 Tickets or Money Will Be Refunded. Ticket SI 00 each J r. ImM AW ^ Market Appraisal Value $72,000.00 ^ Weaverville Area, N. Buncombe County 15 Minutes to Downtown Asheville 00 • Approximately 2/3 Acre ^ • 700 Sq. Ft. S • 2 BR, 1 BA Z • Recently Remodeled ^ • Own Well & Septic 00 • Kerosene Forced-Air Heat uj • Wood-Burning Stove — • Electric Range ^ • Window Treatments Z • Taxes $212.00/Yr. ► 00 Money will be held in trust at First Union Bonk. Moke Checks or Money Orders Payable to: 5 Clyde Lewis/House Raffle £ and mail to: ^ PO Box 1808 ^ Asheville, NC 28802 Tickets will be mailed 24 hours O' after check clears bank. UJ Q ai For more information, contact: ^ Christine (828) 236-0850 or Nancy B. (828) 25i-1968 Z T NC PRIDE'98 T NC PRIDE'98 T NC PRIDE
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