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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 19, 1993                   TAG: 9305190129
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

GAY CONGRESSMAN SUGGESTS COMPROMISE

A homosexual congressman offered a compromise Tuesday to allow homosexuals to serve in the military and do as they please off base so long as they keep their sexual orientation secret while on duty.

Asserting that President Clinton lacks the votes in Congress to end the ban, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., proposed his solution that makes a distinction between a service member's actions on and off duty.

"It's a policy that says, `Don't ask, don't tell, and don't listen, and don't investigate,' " Frank told a Capitol Hill news conference. "Basically the policy . . . is: `Don't start, don't get into the whole thing.' "

Under the plan, a gay service member would keep sexual orientation hidden while in uniform but be allowed privately and off duty to engage in homosexual activities.

If someone finds out about off-duty behavior and turns the individual in, the military's answer should be "we don't want to hear about it," Frank said.

- Associated Press

by CNB