THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 14, 1995 TAG: 9503140324
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
The first lawsuit challenging the Pentagon's ``don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue'' policy went to trial Monday with testimony that there is no evidence homosexuals damage morale or make bad soldiers and sailors.
The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund on behalf of six gay service members - two on active duty and four reservists - argues that President Clinton's 1993 policy on gays in the military violates the free speech and equal protection clauses of the Constitution.
But government lawyers said the regulations are necessary to preserve order and discipline in the ranks. Moreover, the government argued that the courts should defer to the judgment of military commanders and Congress in establishing rules of conduct for the armed forces.
John A. Rogovin, a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's civil division said the regulations were needed to ban homosexual acts, prevent sexual tension for heterosexuals, provide greater privacy to heterosexual troops and avoid ``the risk of polarization'' in military units that are typically made up of 19- and 20-year-olds.
Michael Lacovara, a lawyer for the gay service members, said misconduct such as sodomy already was prohibited for all soldiers under military law. But the new policy, he said, goes beyond that to discriminate against homosexuals in ways it does not against heterosexuals.
Under the new policy, for example, declaring one's homosexuality is considered proof of an intent to commit homosexual acts. Lacovara said this violates gay service members' right to freedom of speech.
In testimony Monday, Former Rand Corp. analyst Robert MacCoun said that his studies of ``unit cohesion'' found the presence of gays does not affect a military unit's ability to function.
MacCoun acknowledged that his views differ sharply from those of retired Gens. Colin Powell and H. Norman Schwarzkopf and others who testified at congressional hearings in 1993 that they feared gays could be a disruptive presence.
Dr. Robert M. Rankin, a psychiatrist and former naval officer who counsels patients at a Veterans Administration hospital in Oakland, Calif., said he never found evidence to suggest that being gay affected job ability.
Testimony is expected to continue through Thursday. Judge Eugene H. Nickerson is hearing the case without a jury and is expected to rule by March 31.
Nickerson has in preliminary rulings over the past year voiced skepticism about the underpinnings of the Clinton administration's policy. MEMO: Related stories on pages A1 and A12.
KEYWORDS: HOMOSEXUAL LESBIAN MILITARY PERSONNEL by CNB