NATIOANL GAY & LESBIAN TASK FORCE
PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Peri Jude Radecic
         (202) 332-6483
         Ron.DeVrou@f70.n109.z1.fidonet.org

CLERGYMAN AND FORMER NAVY OFFICER
TESTIFIES IN CONGRESS TO END MILITARY BAN ON GAYS

Washington, D.C., April 30, 1992...A retired lieutenant commander of the U.S.
Navy, who is an Episcopal clergyman, testified today before Congress to demand
an end to the military's ban on gay and lesbian servicemembers.  On behalf of
the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Federation of Parents and
Friends of Lesbians and Gays, the Reverend Canon Charles E. Wood today called
the expulsion of gay and lesbian servicemembers "outright discrimination and a
waste of taxpayer dollars."

	Canon Wood made the remarks before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee
on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense.  NGLTF Deputy Director of Public
Policy Peri Jude Radecic secured the spot for Canon Wood's testimony, which
marks the first time a representative of a gay organization testified before the
Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.  Canon Wood, a graduate of the U.S.
Naval Academy, served for 24 years on active duty in the U.S. Navy, retiring as
a Lieutenant Commander in 1962.  He is the father of four daughters, one of whom
is a lesbian.

	Canon Wood condemned Department of Defense Directive 1332.14 section H.1 which
states that homosexuality is incompatible with military service.  As a result of
this nearly 50-year-old discriminatory policy, Canon Wood noted, the Department
of Defense estimates that about 2,000 individuals are dismissed or discharged
from their posts each year.  A 1984 Government Accounting Office review of this
policy found that in the decade between 1974 and 1984, the military spent over
$180 million to train and then investigate and discharge 14,311 members of the
service.

	"The facts are that gays and lesbians have and will continue to serve this
country and serve honorably," Canon Wood said.  "The implementation of a
discriminatory policy and the use of taxpayer money to discharge or dismiss
personnel for reasons other than performance is a fact which cannot be ignored
and must be addressed by this subcommittee."

	"This is highly discriminating.  It is a loss of trained personnel.  The dollar
cost is high," Canon Wood stated. "I now call upon Congress to stop funding the
implementation of this costly policy of discrimination."

	Today's testimony at the defense appropriations hearing is one in a series of
events scheduled to challenge the military's ban on gay and lesbian
servicemembers.  Four women testified April 29 before the Defense Advisory
Committee on Women in the Service about the policy's negative impact on women. 
A march against witch hunts, sponsored by Queer Nation/National Capital, the
Human Rights Campaign Fund, and Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Veterans of America
(GLBVA) will be held Sunday, May 3, from the Pentagon to the Naval Military
Personnel Command.  And members of GLBVA will testify against the military ban
on gays on Wednesday, May 6, before the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee,
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation.  

	Resolutions are pending in both the House and the Senate which call upon the
President to rescind the anti-gay policy.   H. Res 271 has 60 sponsors while S.
Res. 236 has 7 sponsors.  In addition, Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-CO), a member of
the House Armed Services Committee, recently wrote to Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman Colin Powell to question him on his defense of the anti-gay policy. 
While Chairman Powell no longer defends the policy on the basis of national
security, he has defended the policy on the grounds of "maintaining good order
and discipline" and refers to the lack of privacy, close quarters, and shared
facilities of service life.  Schroeder reminded Chairman Powell that the same
argument was made in 1942 in support of the policy against integrating blacks
into the service, a policy that was later rescinded.

	For a copy of Canon Wood's testimony, contact Peri Jude Radecic or Robin Kane
at NGLTF, 1734 Fourteenth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20009-4309; (202)
332-6483.
Ron.DeVrou@f70.n109.z1.fidonet.org
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