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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 1994)
8 ▼ Mptomb«r 2. 1®®4 ▼ ju«t out Northwest Portland Chiropractic Physicians Charles E. Ponsonby, D.C. Don Wheatley, D.C. MAGNETS FOR GAYS 274-9011 \ ÍQ u e É N j b u t c h IÔ UT [ c o m IN C “We take the necessary time to diagnose and effectively treat those who put their trust in us. ► 'S : OF th Y y [F A f t -U -L O U S Hours By Appointment J Parking Available Coventry os* / Works Hove an Out-Rageous time with over 7 5 word magnets! 828 N W 23rd Ave. UPHILL TECHNOLOGY. DOWN HILL PRICING. (Between Johnson & Kearney) ) KITES 222-5096 Mon. thru Sat. 10-6 Sun. 12-5 Come in and test ride the new 1994 models from Trek. O PEN TU E S D A Y -S U N D A Y 2 3 0 -7 7 2 3 • 2 0 25 SE H aw th o rn * andnonconuenfZonalloans. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Manufactured Housing/Lond Credit Problems Debt Consolidation 3% Down Programs Pre-approvals for Purchase m >e )re y o u r fu flse rv ic e mor/yaye company. G a ilio c fa y fo r a f i ree qu alification over (h eph on e 503 / 636-2066 Pager 503/870-1666 Christine C. Hall Mortgage Broker |^ G C a k ao c I w v o t n m t . I nc . * 8 4 a * • by Bob Roehr stances in which commanders, psychotherapists Navy board of inquiry has recom and clergy members have asked people the ques mended that Lt. Tracy Thome be tion that is now supposed to be impermissible.” kicked out of the service for being Thome’s case now goes before Navy Secre gay. Thome’s prosecution under the tary John Dalton for final review, with no expec “old” regulations had been dropped tation that the recommendation for dismissal will by mutual consent, and he was now being pros be reversed. ecuted under the “new” regulations commonly Thome promised to continue the fight in fed known as “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” Several hundred eral court. His case will join several others in others have already gone through a similar pro progress, and he will likely obtain an injunction cess since the new regulations went into effect in allowing him to continue service in the Navy March. while the case works its way through the courts. What differentiates Thome’s case from all others is that it is being followed by the ABC news program Nightline, hosted by Ted Koppel. Thome revealed that he was gay on that program May 19, 1992. He was back on, more than two years later, after the board ruling July 14. "The Clinton administration, which came into office apparently committed to resolving the is sue by presidential mandate, long ago retreated behind a political fig leaf,” said Koppel in open ing remarks on the program. A ft 4 ft * Keith Meinhold case was heard last December by a three-member panel of the 9th Circuit Court in California. Some observers are sur prised that the decision has not yet been issued. Keith Meinhold da n d fe aflcon u en lion af First Time Home Buyers Programs Self-Employed Borrowers Bankruptcies & Foreclosures Complicated Borrowers Investment Properties T Mountain Bikes and City Bikes starting at $ 25 9. I f Y ou C a n t G et a L oan F rom U s , Y ou C a n t G et a L oan ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The “new” military policy regarding gay men and lesbians is not working Pettygrove Medical Center 2230 N.W. Pettygrove St. Portland, OR ( i Clinton's political fig leaf ” nr (55 i national news 4 ** » • * * * * • < Other guests that night were David Mixner, a friend and major fund raiser for Clinton in the gay community, and Tom Stoddard, former head of The Campaign for Military Service, the ill-fated coalition assembled in 1993 to fight the ban. “What it used to be is, if the military found out you were gay, they would kick you out,” Thome said. “And now if they find out you are gay, they are going to kick you out.” Thome attacked the double standard of “re buttable presumption” under the new policy, which assumes that gay men and lesbians engage in prohibited sex in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Thome said that the military ’ s own research indicates over 80 percent of hetero sexual service members engage in conduct pro hibited by the code, yet there is no rebuttable presumption that they engage in such conduct. “I think the policy has failed and failed to tally,” Mixner said. “We are seeing, once again, people who believe in God and their country and their family, whose only crime is that they want to serve their country, being persecuted by our gov ernment as they attempt to serve their nation.” “The courts have taken up the issue because the political branches of government have de faulted,” Stoddard said. “They have failed to take seriously the constitutional requirement of equal protection of the law.” “The policy is, in essence, unenforceable, be cause in the military commanders have great discretion over people’s lives,” Stoddard said. “We now have learned of quite a few circum The last five federal court decisions concern ing gay men and lesbians in the military have gone against the government. Those cases are based on the “old” policy. Joseph Steffan’s challenge is the longest run ning. His appeal was heard in May before the full District of Columbia Circuit Court, often called second only to the U.S. Supreme Court in impor tance. A decision could come down any time between now and the fall. Keith Meinhold’s case was heard last Decem ber by a three-member panel of the 9th Circuit Court in California. Some observers are surprised that the decision has not yet been issued. Margarethe Cammermeyer was reinstated into the National Guard on June 1 by a federal judge in Washington state. The first challenge to the new policy was filed in March, a few days after the regulations went into effect. The Able case involves six members of various branches of the service. It is being heard in the 2nd Circuit Court in New York. Preliminary motions have been resolved favor ably for the plaintiffs; the trial should start in the fall. On Nightline, Koppel gave Thome the last word when he asked, “Was it worth it?” “I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” Thome said. “My dad used to tell me, the right thing to do is not always the easy thing to do.... This has been the right thing to do, and people have got to continue to stand up for those things.”