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Demonstrated For SSM
Sailor
Being Kicked Out Of Navy
by
365Gay.com July 17, 2006
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Washington -- A petty officer
who joined a New York City demonstration in support of same-sex marriage is
being thrown out of the military.
PO Rhonda Davis has been in the Navy for ten years.
During the June 3 rally -- a march across the Brooklyn Bridge -- Davis was
interviewed by NYC all-news radio station WINS.
Davis identified herself as a member of the military and said she supported
same-sex marriage. She then told WINS that she looked forward to one day
being able to marry her partner of more than three years.
Two days later Davis's commanding officer informed her that, after being made
aware of the interview by callers to the office where she is stationed, the
command was forced to discharge her under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the law,
which prohibits openly lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel from serving in the
armed forces.
“Petty Officer Davis’s case highlights the double-standard ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell’ forces gay men and women to serve under,” said Sharra E. Greer, director
of law and policy for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), which is
representing Davis.
“While heterosexual military personnel can proclaim their love from the San
Francisco Bridge to the Brooklyn Bridge without consequence, lesbian or gay
service members who do the same are sent packing because their proclamation is
about someone of the same gender.
"As a result, the Navy is now losing the talents and dedication of a ten-year
veteran simply because of federally sanctioned homophobia,” said Greer.
Davis, with the help of SLDN is fighting the discharge order.
“I am a proud, patriotic American who happens to be gay,” Davis said in a
statement.
“My sexual orientation has never stood in the way of getting my job done, and I
was looking forward to continuing my Navy career."
The Department of Defense has discharged more than 11,000 service members since
1993 under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban. According to the Government
Accountability Office (GAO), more than 800 of those service members were trained
in skills deemed ‘mission-critical’ by the Pentagon.
Last month the military was forced to apologize when it was revealed that a a
Pentagon document listing various "disorders" included the reference to
homosexuality decades after mental health experts abandoned that position.
A bi-partisan coalition in Congress now supports legislation to repeal the
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law. The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R.
1059), introduced in March 2005 by Congressman Marty Meehan (D-MA) now has about
120 supporters, including five Republican lawmakers. Meehan’s legislation
would repeal the military’s ban and allow lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel to
serve openly in the armed forces.
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