junaJfi. 2000 ■
k 1 rui [ijivm news
\ .
Dohm: “Just like the communities we live in,
the courts are waking up to the truth about les
bian and gay parents and our families. D eci
sions like this give us hope that the law will
catch up to reality and do away with the dis
criminatory barriers that divide us and harm
our children.”
MARYLAND
nun and priest forced last July to end their
ministry to gay men and lesbians were
ordered by the Vatican in late May to stop
speaking publicly about their work or the deci
sion to discipline them, reports T he Associated
Press.
Although they obeyed the order to end their
ministry of more than 20 years, both Sister Jean-
nine Gramick and the Rev. Robert Nugent have
spoken out about the church’s decision.
Gramick, a member of the School Sisters of
Notre Dame, said she would continue to speak
out.
“I choose to obey the voice of God within
me, and in this instance, the voice of God is say
ing that I should not collaborate with my own
oppression,”
she
said.
A member of
the order for 40
years, Gramick
could be dis
missed if she
does not comply
with the Vatican’s directive.
Nugent said he would abide by
the Vatican’s decision.
Gram ick and Nugent co-founded New
Ways Ministry in 1977 in Mount Rainier, a
town near the border of the District of Colum
bia. They ministered to gay men and lesbians,
held retreats, published works on homosexual
ity and the Catholic Church, and held work
shops around the country.
A
NATIONAL
r. John Hensala, a psychiatrist, made a
deal with the Air Force in 1986. In
exchange for his medical training, Hensala
agreed to serve four years in the Air Force and
entered the Armed Forces Health Professions
Scholarship Program.
T he Air Force paid for his training at
Northwestern and Yale universities. Hensala
served 20 weeks of active duty over a four year
period. T he Air Force deferred his active duty
service during his three-year residency at Yale
and a two-year fellowship at the University of
California at San Francisco.
In 1994, days after the Air Force informed
him that his active duty would begin the next
year, Hensala announced he is gay. He was dis
charged and ordered to repay more than
$70,000 for the cost o f his education.
Hensala responded to the demand for
repayment by filing a lawsuit against the Pen
tagon on May 18.
According to T h e Associated Press, this
may be the first such lawsuit ever filed against
the Pentagon. Dozens of others who have been
discharged from the military for being gay
have faced similar demands for repayment,
including former Naval Academy student
Tommie Lee Watkins Jr., whose story was
reported in the June 2 issue o f Ju st Out.
Hensala claims he did not know he was gay
when he joined the Air Force. T h e Air Force
maintains that Hensala intentionally timed
his announcement to get out o f his military
obligation. Hensala insists, however, that he is
willing rejoin the Air Force.
“There were a lot o f elements I really
liked,” he said. “1 wanted to serve, but I didn’t
feel I could abide by a policy that was bad for
my own mental health."
D
Earlier this month, dozens of people marched
through downtown San Juan demanding that
lawmakers do away with the sodomy law.
Gay rights advocates have been lobbying
lawmakers to change the law, but no one is will
ing to sponsor the legislation needed to do so.
Called the “Decade of Reclaiming the
Streets with Pride March,” the demonstration
wound through the Condado tourist district. A
rally was held in Luis Munoz Rivera Park.
"W e demand peace for the lesbians, homo
sexuals, bisexuals, transsexuals and transgen-
dered who are bombarded with taunts, contam
inated by homophobia, abused by violence,”
Rainbow Pride spokeswoman Amparo Fidalgo
told the crowd.
N Com piled by KRISTINE C h ATWOOD, a Portland-
based free-lance writer and longtime Just Out con
tributor.
What Makes a Gay Soul Unique?
A n 8 W e e k G roup for G a y M e n on a Spiritual Jou rn ey
L
PUERTO RICO
eclaring a determination to “take whatever
steps necessary” to eliminate the common
wealth’s sodomy law, the American Civil Liber
ties Union announced May 22 it will appeal to
the Puerto Rico Supreme Court if an appellate
court does not reverse its ruling dismissing a
major legal challenge to the island’s “crime
against nature” law.
“From time to time, we see deeply misguided
decisions like this. In this particular case, the
court’s decision isn’t just conservative interpre
tation of the law. It’s legally inaccurate and
incorrect,” said Michael Adams, associate direc
tor of the A CLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Pro
ject and lead attorney in the case. “We will take
whatever steps necessary to repeal this law, but
first we want to give the appellate court anoth
er chance to look at it.”
By a 2-1 vote, the Puerto Rico Court of
Appeals dismissed the A C LU ’s challenge to the
sodomy law. T he court said no citizen could
show that they are directly impacted by the law
and that the law does not jeopardize any citizen’s
constitutional rights.
“Many of us were particularly baffled by the
notion that Puerto Rico’s sodomy law does not
directly affect our people,” said Janice Gutierez
Lacourt, executive director of the ACLU of
Puerto Rico. “In fact, this law is a clear danger
to every lesbian and gay man in Puerto Rico.”
Puerto Rico’s sodomy law forbids private,
consensual sexual intercourse between people
of the same sex. It also prohibits private, con
sensual anal sex, regardless of whether the cou
ple is heterosexual or homosexual. Violations
are a felony, punishable by a fine up to $ 1,000 or
as many as 10 years in prison.
The Puerto Rico Department of Justice has
announced that it intends to enforce the
sodomy law if police provide evidence of viola
tions.
T h e A C LU lawsuit contends that the
sodomy law violates the commonwealth and
federal constitutions by criminalizing private,
consensual, noncommercial intimacy between
adults. T he ACLU has used this argument suc
cessfully against several state laws in recent
years.
ft**
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