VFW HEAD SUPPORTS GAY BAN

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

DATE: TUESDAY, February 2, 1993                   TAG: 9302020289
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DIANE SIMPSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
VFW HEAD SUPPORTS GAY BAN
Veterans of Foreign Wars Commander-in-Chief John Carney stood with one hand in his pocket in a smoke-filled room and said Monday that gays should remain "in the closet" or stay out of the military.
Carney, 62, of Melbourne, Fla., said he supports Sen. Sam Nunn's opposition to the removal of the ban on homosexuals in the armed forces. Homosexuality "affects morale and the overall structure of the military," he said.
Carney spoke to about 35 veterans and ladies' auxiliary members at VFW Post 1264 at 3805 Melrose Ave. N.W.
Carney has been traveling throughout Virginia to talk to VFW members and "to pick up as many members as we can for the new era," he said.
Carney also awarded Roanoke Fire Capt. Harold Kelley with a lifesaving certificate for his off-duty rescue of a woman and her three children. Kelley was named Roanoke's Firefighter of the Year last year.
Carney, who served as a hospital corpsman for the Navy during the Korean War, urged VFW members to start a letter-writing campaign against President Clinton's proposal to lift the ban on homosexuals in the armed forces. Carney said he felt the president acted too quickly on the issue.
Clinton took the initial steps toward revoking the ban Saturday, when he set July 15 as the final date for the drafting of a formal order. Nunn, D-Ga., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, plans to hold public hearings on the issue.
Carney did not deny the presence of homosexuals in the military. "They have been in the closet. We don't know who the individuals are, but they serve their country," he said. "Even if the ban was lifted, they'd stay in the closet."
Carney said this issue is different from the issue of blacks in the military in the 1940s. "This is not a civil rights issue," he said.
Carney hopes the president will focus on "more pressing issues."
Carney praised former President Bush for his deployment of forces to feed the hungry in Somalia. "But we voice concern that this is precedent-setting," he said. "We would now like to find out our military mission for the future."
Carney plans to return to Korea to have full accounting for the 8,100 MIAs there and to continue to help find the whereabouts of the 78,000 MIAs from World War II. Carney will also continue his drive for more members in the VFW. There now are 2.2 million VFW members.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB