Hourly Update

Outed soldier pushes to overturn 'don't ask, don't tell'

PHOENIX - A gay soldier who said he was "outed" while serving at Fort Huachuca is pushing to overturn the "don't ask/don't tell" policy that forced him out of the military. Alexander Nicholson said Tuesday he was being trained in "human intelligence collection'' at the base when another soldier reported him to his superior as homosexual. Nicholson, who speaks several languages including Arabic, said he was given the choice of resigning of being investigated - and possibly getting a less-than-honorable discharge. He took the first option. The former Army private told his story Tuesday as part of a nationwide effort by the Human Rights Coalition to build public support to repeal the policy, one which originally was pushed as a way of letting gays legally serve in the military - providing they stay in the closet. Coalition members who told their story in Phoenix included Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, believed to be the first U.S. soldier to suffer serious injuries in the war in Iraq. He lost a leg after stepping on a land mine. Former Army Reserve Lt. Steve May, who was a Republican state legislator from Tempe when he was got into trouble with the military, also is helping with the effort. But May, who fought the Army and was allowed to complete his service commitment, said his focus may be a bit different than some of the other former soldiers. "For me it's not a right to serve," he said. "It's what's in the best interests of national defense." The 1993 policy was instituted by then President Clinton after Congress refused to let gays and lesbians serve in the military. In essence the policy does the same thing - with the proviso that overt acts or admissions will result in discharge. Nicholson said several colleagues knew he was gay. "Service members our age, our generation, don't have a problem with gay and lesbian service members even if they happen to be open," Nicholson said. But he said it allows people who know someone's sexual orientation to use it against that person, which he said is what happened to him. May, already in the Army Reserve, was openly gay when first elected in 1992. But it did not become an issue until he testified in 1996 against legislation by then Rep. Karen Johnson, R-Mesa, to ban government agencies from offering fringe benefits to the domestic partners of gay employees. Johnson, now a state senator, had testified the measure was necessary to prevent "morally suspect'' homosexual and promiscuous lifestyles. May lashed out at Johnson. "Many members expected me to stay in my office quietly," he told committee members. "When you attack my family and my freedom, I will not sit in my office quietly." That public statement became the basis for efforts to discharge him. May fought the move and eventually was allowed to complete his service and get an honorable discharge.