Subject: GAY SAILOR WINS ANOTHER ROUND -- News Analysis
From: [email-masked] (Rex Wockner)
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 1994 14:01:22 -0700 (PDT)

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Copyright (c) 1994 Rex Wockner. All rights reserved.
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                   MEINHOLD WINS ANOTHER ROUND

                     *** NEWS ANALYSIS ***

                         by Rex Wockner

SAN DIEGO -- Gay sailor Keith Meinhold won another round Aug. 31 in his
fight to stay in the U.S. Navy.
        The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 3-0 ruling that
the military can bar gays for saying they "desire" gay sex or "intend" to
have gay sex, but it cannot bar gays simply for saying they are gay.
        Yes, this sounds just like Catholic Church teaching -- it's a sin
to have gay sex but not a sin to be gay.
        In order to get booted from the Navy, the court said, Meinhold, a
14-year veteran, would have to state a "concrete, expressed desire or
intent to act on his homosexual propensity."
        One might ask, of course, what else the statement "I'm gay" could
possibly mean except that one "desires" intimacy with a person of the
same sex.
        In 1992, Meinhold said on ABC-TV's "Nightline," "Yes, I am, in
fact, gay," and got kicked out of the Navy.
        But a federal court later sent Meinhold back to work -- he's now
at San Diego's North Island Naval Air Station -- and this appeals-court
ruling upheld that decision.
        Both rulings concern the military's old gay ban, not its bizarre
new policy of don't ask, don't tell, don't have sex, don't kiss, don't
hold hands, but do feel free to go ahead and read gay magazines, march in
gay-pride parades, go to gay bars, and associate with known homosexuals.
        But the rulings likely have implications for the new policy
because treatment of gays and lesbians has barely changed since it took
effect.
        Following the new ruling, Meinhold said, "I am a sailor just like
every other sailor in the United States Navy and I will continue to go
about doing my job as I always have, and the government cannot assume
just because I'm gay, that I'm any different from any other sailor."
        Sure, but don't most sailors have sex?
        Gay legal experts were quick to warn that this latest ruling does
not mean gay folks in the military should feel secure saying, "I'm gay"
or "I'm gay but I do not desire or intend to have sex."
        The military's confusing policy on gays is not applied in even a
remotely consistent manner, and this court ruling is just one of many to
come. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to sort the whole
mess out. Until then, be careful.

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