Subject: Permanent Injunction because of Immediate Action
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 16:50:18 EST

Permanent Injunction because of Immediate Action

Aloha Folks,

Permanent Injunction for Navy McVeigh signed today.  Again, second victory in
less than 6 days for freeedom, equality and justice.

Mahalo for your help to extend communication and action to get the results we
all deserve.

do  good

William E. Woods, MPH
GLEA Foundation

JUDGE GRANTS PERMANENT INJUNCTION
PREVENTING DISCHARGE OF CHIEF OF BOAT

Ruling Marks First Time Court Rules That Navy Violated Limits on
Investigations 
Under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue”
  
WASHINGTON, DC - Later today, District Judge Stanley Sporkin of the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia will issue a permanent injunction
preventing the discharge of Senior Chief Petty Officer Timothy R. McVeigh.
The Navy reserves the right to appeal the injunction to the D.C. Circuit Court
of Appeals.

C. Dixon Osburn, Co-Executive Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense
Network, stated, “This is a huge victory for McVeigh.  What Judge Sporkin’s
ruling means is that after reviewing the merits of the case, he has determined
that the Navy violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act as well as
the limits on investigations under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue.’
This is the first time that a federal court judge has said that the Navy has
failed to follow its own rules and regulations under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,
Don’t Pursue.’”  

McVeigh, who was recommended for discharge because he allegedly used the word
“gay” to describe his marital status on an America Online user profile, filed
a lawsuit last week against the government.  His suit claims that the Navy
unlawfully obtained information about him from America Online without a
warrant or court order as required by the 1986 Electronic Communications
Privacy Act (ECPA), and breached the limits on investigations under the
Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” policy.

In a ruling granting the preliminary injunction on Monday, January 26, 1998,
Judge Sporkin, a Reagan appointee, stated, “The Navy violated the very essence
of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Pursue’ by launching a search and destroy mission.” Judge
Sporkin further stated in his ruling, “Suggestions of sexual orientation in a
private, anonymous email account did not give the Navy a sufficient reason to
investigate to determine whether to commence discharge proceedings.  In its
actions, the Navy violated its own regulations.”   

With respect to the merits of McVeigh’s claim that the military solicited a
violation of  the Electronic Communications Privacy Act by AOL, Judge Sporkin
warned that in the era of “big brother” it is incumbent on the federal
government to observe all the limits and safeguards to an individual’s privacy
guaranteed by federal law.
         
The case, which has caught the attention of the online industry, watchdog, and
civil rights groups, is the latest in a long line of controversies surrounding
the military’s policy on gays.
 
“In granting this permanent injunction, the Court is sending a strong and
clear message that military commanders cannot go snooping for evidence that
troops are gay,” stated Osburn.  “There are limits.  And those limits must be
followed.” 
     
McVeigh’s case was strengthened last week when America Online, after admitting
that it released McVeigh’s identity to a Naval paralegal, blasted the military
for flouting Federal law by ignoring proper legal procedures to obtain such
information.

Additionally, the author of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” policy,
professor Charles Moskos of Northwestern University, after reviewing the facts
of the case, criticized the military in a declaration filed in federal court.
“It is my opinion that the Navy violated the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in
the McVeigh case by launching an investigation without there being credible
evidence that Senior Chief McVeigh had engaged in homosexual acts or had
openly stated that he was a homosexual.”