Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 12, 1994 TAG: 9409130021
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A year and a half has passed since Navy Lt. j.g. Dirk Selland told his commanding officer that he was gay and was ordered off the Norfolk-based submarine where he served as a supply officer.
He has withstood national scrutiny of his sexual orientation. He has listened to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee tell him that employment discrimination was justified in certain cases and that homosexuality was not normal.
He has fought one discharge and is poised to fight a recommendation for another. His continued Naval service could be subject to a court ruling.
And yet, "I don't regret it," said Selland, in Roanoke on Sunday for the Alliance for Gay and Lesbian Organization's fifth annual Pride in the Park picnic. Selland was keynote speaker at the event, held in Wasena Park in Southwest Roanoke.
"A lot of positive things came out of the disclosure. My military commanding officers and executive officers have shown me great respect. They have given me a challenging and worthwhile job.
"Friday afternoon, before I left, we were working on issues such as the Haiti invasion and the Cuban refugee efforts. That is the key thing. They've given me a job, and I'm working. I wish they'd just put my sexual orientation to the side."
Selland, 25, said his homosexuality was no secret among those who served with him on the USS Hammerhead. But he did not openly acknowledge that he was gay until January of last year, on the day he received word that Clinton was going to issue an executive order lifting a military ban on declared homosexuals.
In the privacy of his commanding officer's stateroom, "we discussed my sexual orientation," Selland said. "I acknowledged it. I did not deny it. That evening, the commanding officer called his boss, the commodore, and they had me removed that night."
Clinton backed off on lifting the ban, and Selland has since been fighting administratively and legally against efforts to discharge him from the military.
When the Navy tried to discharge Selland under the old Reagan/Bush policy barring declared homosexuals from military service, he filed a lawsuit. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction blocking his discharge pending outcome of the lawsuit.
But Selland has had to contest his discharge a second time, under the new "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which calls for recruits not to be asked about their sexual preference before they get into the service but allows the military to discharge or demote them if they announce they are homosexual.
In July, Selland went before a Navy panel to challenge his discharge under the new policy, the first challenge the policy has received. The panel recommended that Selland be honorably discharged.
Selland is awaiting action by the Secretary of the Navy, whom he expects to rubber-stamp the panel's recommendation.
"Once he gives me a discharge date, I'll go into federal court and ask for an injunction to stop this discharge," he said. "That may take another year; but at least staying in, I'll keep getting my paychecks."
Selland finds fault with the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
"At face value, this policy looks good," he said. "They've made some changes to the 15-year-old policy that prevents the question of one's sexual orientation to be prudent. And it supposedly stops investigations regarding one's sexual orientation.
"But ... the new policy offers no real protection to gay servicemen. Such provisions of the new directives, such as a more broad and subjective definition of homosexual acts, may indeed make life more dangerous for gay servicemen."
Selland's words echoed across Wasena Park, where a crowd of an estimated 800 had gathered for food, fun and music.
"The purpose of the picnic is to foster a sense of community among gay and lesbian people who live in the Roanoke area, actually all of Western Virginia," said Sam Garrison, a Roanoke attorney and spokesman for the Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Organizations, which sponsored the event.
Garrison said he sensed a movement toward greater acceptance of diversity in sexual orientation, even in the military. The ban, he predicted, would come to an end, though it could be five to 15 years from now.
"Ignorance of the facts, speculation and mythology is being replaced gradually with information," he said. "With that comes understanding and greater acceptance. The climate of acceptance in society has improved.
"The subject is out of the closet."
by CNB