Navy Reverses Course
on Gay Petty Officer –
Again
by Kilian Melloy,
edgeboston.com from the Web, May 12, 2007
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| Petty Officer Jason Knight |
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Boston, May 11 -- With only a few
weeks to go before his tour of duty in Kuwait is fulfilled, Petty Officer Second
Class Jason Knight has been informed by the Navy that he about to be discharged
for a second time under the provisions of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell."
Knight was initially given an honorable discharge under the military’s policy of
banning openly gay service members in 2005, following his admission that he is
gay. Less than a year later, however, Knight was recalled to active duty
and sent to Kuwait with Naval Customs Battalion Romeo.
Knight made no secret of his homosexuality and last week an article about him
appeared in Stars & Stripes newspaper. The Navy’s decision to discharge
him followed in short order: Knight received word of his second dismissal
under the gay service member ban on Thursday, partly on account of his
interviews with the press. Knight had originally been scheduled for
discharge on May 28.
"Jason Knight was an exemplary sailor who gladly returned to active duty when
our country needed him," said Sharra Greer, director of law and policy for
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). "Now, despite his dedication
and service, and the praise of those he served alongside, the Navy has decided
to fire him because he dared to tell his story and put a public face to the
courage of lesbian and gay service personnel.
"Our nation should be embarrassed that our armed forces are forced to respond to
Knight’s selfless service with a government-sanctioned pink slip," Greer
continued. "’Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ silences lesbians and gays and
attempts to make them invisible. Because Knight refused invisibility, he
will now be fired."
The Stars & Stripes article included favorable commentary on Knight from his
fellow servicemembers.
Knight, a trained Hebrew linguist, said May 11, "I have now spent five years in
the Navy, and I have loved every minute of it. It is unfortunate that in
our country, which prides itself on being a beacon of liberty to the world,
discrimination is still alive and well... I am proud to be among the one
million gay veterans who have answered the call to duty, and I look forward to
working alongside them to topple this un-American and counter-productive law."
The SLDN website has posted details about Knight’s experience at
www.sldn.org.
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