june 2.2000 • J u t M t 17
IOW A
D
an Savage, sex columnist for the Seattle
newspaper The Stranger, appeared in May
in Polk County District Court to plead not
guilty to a charge of felony voter fraud, reports
the May 10 Des Moines Register.
The charges stem from an article Savage
wrote for the online magazine Salon. In the arti
cle, titled “Stalking Gary Bauer," Savage
detailed his efforts to infiltrate the campaign of
the right-wing Republican. In particular, Savage
wrote that he used his temporary address at the
Kirkwood Hotel in Des Moines to vote in Iowa’s
January Republican presidential caucus. Savage
labeled his voting an act of protest.
This case is based on some very narrow elec
tion laws, according to Des Moines attorney
Mark Weinhardt, who adds that it is not related
to Savage’s claims of licking doorknobs and
office supplies in an effort to infect Bauer with
the flu.
Savage’s trial has been set for July 24. He is
currently free on the district’s pretrial release
program and has returned to Seattle.
speakers made it clear that the actions of church
members were a source of great concern. Some
gay citizens spoke of having been targeted by the
Westboro Baptist Church in faxes and pickets.
Betty Simecka, former president and CEO of
the Topeka Convention and Visitors Bureau,
told of people choosing not to hold their con
ventions in Topeka because of the pickets.
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KANSAS
he Topeka City Council has gone on
record as officially opposing hate. The
council did so with the unanimous passage in
May o f a resolution stating its opposition to
“hateful behavior,” according to a May 10 story
in The Topeka Capital-Journal.
Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church,
headquarters of infamous homophobe the Rev.
Fred W. Phelps Sr., threatened to challenge the
resolution in court.
The
resolution
makes no reference to
the Westboro Baptist
Church or to its con
gregation of ardent
anti-gay picketers.
Margie
Phelps,
daughter of the Rev.
Phelps and a member
of the Phelps law firm,
insisted it is obvious
the
resolution
is
aimed at her group.
She sent an e-mail to
city council members
in which she wrote
that the resolution
would “communicate
a message of dispar
agement against our
religion.”
“The next time we
meet,” she said,” it
will he in a court
room.”
A similar resolu
tion was introduced last November by Council
man Clark Duffy. That restitution vanished after
being sent to committee.
This latest version was also introduced by
Duffy. In April, with the backing of a local group
called Concerned Citizens for Topeka, Duffy
introduced the new version, saying he and
members of C C T felt “the frustration of a simple
resolution like that sitting in committee."
On the night of the vote, C C T organized a
rally on the steps of the Statehouse. The rally
was followed by a march to City Hall to show
support for the resolution.
Members of Westboro Baptist Church
appeared at the rally hearing anti-gay picket
signs. Security officers kept the group several
hundred feet away from the rally.
The anti-hate resolution was quickly moved
to the top of the council meeting’s agenda when
the room filled to overflowing.
Although the resolution was not aimed
directly at Westboro Baptist Church, several
T
Although the
resolution was not
aimed directly at
Westboro Baptist
Church several
speakers made it
clear that the
actions of church
members were a
source of great
concern. Some gay
citizens spoke
of having been
targeted by the
Westboro Baptist
Church in faxes
and pickets.
,
ommie Lee Watkins Jr. was a midshipman
at the U .S. Naval Academy in Annapolis,
Md. He was president of his class and aspired to
he a Navy pilot.
TTiat life fell apart in 1997, when another
midshipman accused Watkins of making sexual
advances toward him and other midshipmen.
Although a legal officer reviewed the case and
found there was not enough evidence to support
many of the allegations, Watkins resigned from
the academy out of fear that he would not he
able to receive a fair trial because of homopho
bia.
Now, The Associated Press reports, the Navy
wants Watkins to reimburse the government
nearly $67,000.
The order to repay, issued in March by Car
olyn H. Becraft, assistant secretary of the Navy
for manpower, appears to violate Pentagon poli
cy, according to a report issued in November by
the Navy’s highest personnel review panel and
recently made public hy The Washington Post.
The panel’s conclusion is based on a 1994
policy which states that people discharged for
being gay should he required to repay the gov
ernment only under certain circumstances that
involve a specific, written finding of homosex
ual conduct.
“There was no finding of any aggravated
homosexual behavior,” the Board for Correction
of Naval Records said in its report. “According
ly, the board believes that directing recoupment
was inappropriate in Watkins’ case.”
The report was given to The Associated
Press hy William Ferris, Watkins’ attorney.
Ferris plans to file suit in U.S. District Court
in Baltimore, asking that the Navy he ordered to
follow the hoard’s recommendations.
Becraft argues the policy does not apply,
because Watkins left the academy voluntarily hy
resigning rather than facing charges. Ferris
counters that it is ridiculous for the Navy to tell
Watkins to resign or he kicked out and then hill
him for the cost of his education because he
agreed to leave voluntarily.
It is the military’s practice to require reim
bursement, either in cash or through enlisted
service, from officer trainees who leave the
academy in their junior or senior years. This rule
is particularly burdensome for gay men and les
bians, who cannot serve enlisted time because of
the military’s gay ban.
T
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