BILL PROPOSES BAN ON GAYS IN GUARD

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 17, 1993                   TAG: 9301170125
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: E-4   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short
BILL PROPOSES BAN ON GAYS IN GUARD
A state lawmaker is sponsoring a bill that would prohibit homosexuals from serving in the Virginia National Guard even if the Clinton administration lifts the ban on gays in the military.
The proposal is "not new and radical," said Del. James "Jay" O'Brien, R-Clifton. "It would merely sustain the current prohibition on the books."
A 1973 graduate of West Point, O'Brien said lifting the ban on homosexuals in the military, including state national guards, "would have a significant impact on morale and discipline, and more specifically, on recruitment and retention."
O'Brien said "military readiness is paramount to any perceived notion that one individual should be allowed to serve."
His bill would ban gays from joining the Virginia Guard and discharge any who are discovered. Defense Department rules - which President-elect Clinton said he'd overturn - prohibit gays from serving in the guard.
Kent Willis, executive director of the Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the proposal is "an outrageous affront to people with minority sexual orientation."
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GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1993

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB