Group brings ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell''
fight to region

By KATE WILTROUT, The Virginian-Pilot
© July 27, 2006
Last updated: 8:07 AM

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=108216&ran=8586&tref=po

NORFOLK - A fledgling national organization dedicated to repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
hopes to make Norfolk a hot spot of grassroots opposition to the 13-year-old military policy
on homosexuals.

The Military Equality Alliance is sponsoring a town hall meeting here Saturday that will feature four gay veterans from Virginia. MEA was formed this month, has one paid employee and an annual budget of $80,000, according to Jim Maloney, its San Francisco-based executive director.

Maloney said Norfolk is crucial for two reasons: It has a large military community with a sizable number of gay veterans, and U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake, who represents part of the city, is a member of the congressional subcommittee considering a bill to repeal the ban on openly gay service members.

"It's requiring gays and lesbians in the military to lie - about where they go on the weekends, about who they're talking to," said Lara Ballard , co-chair of MEA's board and its coordinator for Virginia. "In an age of heightened security, why do you want a
policy that requires service members to lie to their superiors about what they're doing?"

Ballard said the forum is unrelated to Virginia's referendum in November, when voters will consider a proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage in the state.

In 2005, Rep. Martin Meehan, a Democrat from Massachusetts, introduced the legislation requiring the military to adopt a nondiscrimination policy on sexual orientation in place of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

The current law, which was enacted in 1993 under President Clinton, requires gay and lesbian military members to keep their sexual orientation secret and prohibits same-sex sexual contact.

Drake's spokesman, Tyler Brown, said Wednesday the congresswoman does not support Meehan's bill.

"In her numerous meetings with ranking military officials, this has never been an issue that they've raised," Brown said. Nor has Drake's office heard much from constituents about the issue, he said.

The alliance hopes to change that by finding and training local residents to lobby for the bill. The organization also is targeting U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Davis , who represents Virginia's 1st Congressional District and, like Drake, sits on the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on military personnel. Both Drake and Davis are Republicans.

Davis' office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Using Census data, The Urban Institute estimated in 2004 that Hampton Roads is home to nearly 10,000 gay and lesbian veterans. The institute is a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that researches economic and social policy.

Vivien Viloria, a lesbian, retired last year as a chief petty officer after 22 years in the Navy. The Norfolk resident is not a member of MEA, but will be a panelist Saturday. Ballard, who left the Army as a captain after a four-year hitch in 1995, will moderate the
discussion.

Viloria said in an interview that she endured verbal harassment for years, especially as a younger sailor, and said gay-bashing is still prevalent in the Navy. She said the U.S. should follow the lead of other nations - including Israel, Canada, Britain and Australia
- that allow gays to serve openly.

"I think the hardest part was the fear of being found out. Towards the ends of my career, it started just wearing on me," said Viloria, who spent most of her time in Norfolk or on Norfolk-based ships. Even now, she's concerned that publicly acknowledging her sexual orientation could cause problems.

"When we retire, we retire into the fleet reserve," she said. "I thought, 'Can they still take my retirement away?" It's a slow crawl out of that military closet."

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which tracks dismissals under the current policy, found that more than 11,000 military members were kicked out for being gay between 1994 and 2005.

The Government Accountability Office estimated last year that the cost of replacing enlisted service members dismissed under the first 10 years of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was $190.5 million. This year, a University of California commission studying the financial
impact of the ban tallied the cost at nearly $364 million.

· Reach Kate Wiltrout at (757) 446-2629 or kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com

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