
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 8, 1994                    TAG: 9406080468 
SECTION: FRONT                     PAGE: A4    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST 
DATELINE: 940608                                 LENGTH: WASHINGTON

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST CIVILIANS OUTLAWED BY NAVY

{LEAD} The Navy has explicitly banned discrimination against civilian employees on the basis of sexual orientation.

``Each civilian employee of the Department of the Navy is an essential member of a team supporting our national defense mission,'' Navy Secretary John Dalton said in a statement dated May 23. ``Our continued success requires that each civilian employee and applicant be afforded the opportunity to excel without regard to his or her race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age or disability.''

{REST} The statement applies only to the 252,000 civilians in the Navy, not the 482,000 uniformed officers and sailors, who remain subject to the ``don't ask, don't tell'' rules issued last year by the Clinton administration. Those regulations were designed to put an end to aggressive efforts by military officials to expose and expel homosexuals but still provide for the discharge of gays and lesbians if they engage in homosexual activity.

Dalton's statement drew vigorous praise Tuesday from homosexual rights groups, which viewed it as a major step toward acceptance of gays and lesbians in defense-related activities.

``It's unprecedented in the Department of Defense,'' declared Tanya Domi, legislative director for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

``This makes the Navy the first service to consider sexual orientation an element of diversity,'' said Steve Benzek, co-chairman of the Navy Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees organization formed last October.

The Navy's move followed a similar directive by the Coast Guard, which in April banned sexual orientation as a basis for denying employment opportunities to its 6,000 civilian employees. Coast Guard officials said the measure was just a codification of long-standing policy.

Navy officials said the same Tuesday, explaining that Dalton's statement did not represent any change in policy and was being issued now simply in compliance with Equal Opportunity Employment Commission regulations, which require annual statements. Civilian employees in the Navy and other government agencies have been protected against discriminatory actions since 1979 under the Civil Service Reform Act, the officials noted.

But previous Pentagon statements on the subject have not mentioned sexual orientation.

by CNB