[Clipping: Dismissed from Army as a lesbian, colonel will fight homosexual ban] Part: 1 of 6
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14
y
SUNDAY, MAY 31, 1992
Sj elNur jork irn
Washington Talk
In Surprise,
High Court
App ears
Less Solid
By LINDA GREENHOUSE
Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON,
May 30-Nosoon-
er have the consei-
vatives found
themselves in the
saddle at the Supreme Court than
they are st acting to ride off in differ-
ent direct ions. If the last few weeks
are any indication, the term could
turn out to be considerably more rag-
ged, and perhaps even more unpre-
dict able, than appeared likely when it
began last fall.
In its most recent rulings, the Court
appears almost as fragmented and
out of sorts as it did in the years be-
fore retirement shrank the liberal
wing to virtual insignificance.
The four cases decided this week
produced 15 separate opinions, with
members of the conservative major-
ity debating one another with a vigor
they once reserved for their ideologi-
cal opponents.
Among the separate opinions con-
tributed this week by Justices Sandra
Day O'Connor, Anthony M. Kennedy,
Antonin Scalia, David H. Souter andDismissed From Army as Lesbian,
Colonel Will Fight Homosexual BanBy TIMOTHY EGAN
Special to The New York Times
TACOMA, Wash., May 30 - Having
served 14 months in a war zone in
Vietnam, given birth to four sons and
worked daily with some of the most
fragile American war veterans, Col.
Margarethe Cammermeyer has seen
her share of pain and torment.
But there was a moment Thursday
afternoon, at the Washington National
Guard headquarters just south of here,
that broke her heart. After nearly 27
years in the military, Colonel Cammer-
meyer, the chief nurse of this state's
guard, was discharged because she is a
lesbian.
She wept, as did the man who was
forced to dismiss her, Maj. Gen. Greg-
ory P. Barlow, the commander of the
Washington National Guard.
But this is not the end of Colonel
Cammermeyer's involvement with the
Federal Government. She said she
would challenge her dismissal in Fed-
eral court, and her lawyers have ex-
pressed the hope that her case may
ultimately overturn the 49-year ban on'
homosexuals in the military.
Reiterating Policy
The Army refused on Friday to com-
ment on Colonel Cammermeyer s case
beyond reiterating its policy that re-
gards homosexuality as "incompatible
with military service." Defense Secre-
tary Dick Cheney has said he has no
plans to change the policy, though he
has dismissed one reason cited against
homosexuals, that they pose a security
risk, "as something of an old chest-the Nazis after they invaded her native
Norway in World War II. After coming
to America, she joined the Army in the
early 1960's, was awarded a Bronze
Star for her tour in Vietnam and in 1985
was chosen from among 34,000 candi-
dates nationwide as the Veterans Ad-
ministration's Nurse of the Year. While
rising to the rank of chief nurse in the
Washington Army National Guard, she
got her doctorate in nursing at - the
University of Washington.
Her record was without blemishes,
guard officials say. What derailed her
career goal of becoming the nation's
chief military nurse was a security
clearance question that she was asked
I'm not a threat,'
a high-ranking
nurse says of her
homosexuality.
three years ago. After she applied for
admission to a war college, Colonel
Cammermeyer went through an exten-
sive background check. Asked by a
Pentagon official during a personal in-
terview if she was a homosexual -
something she said she had never been
quite sure of for the last 10 years -
Colonel Cammermeyer answered yes,
without hesitation.all alike," she said. "If people can see
the sameness of me to you, then per-
haps they won't have the walls that
makes it so they have to hate us with-
out a cause."
The issue was fanned again on Fri-
day when Ross Perot, the undeclared
independent candidate for President,
told Barbara Walters in an interview
on the ABC News program '20/20"
that he would not allow homosexuals to
serve in certain Cabinet posts.
"It will distract from the work to be
done," Mr. Perot said. He also indicat-
ed that he would not seek to overturn
the ban on homosexuals in the military.
After Colonel Cammermeyer heard
Mr. Perot's comments, she said, "I was
frightened by them, really frightened."
'Based on Ignorance'
Officially, the military lists seven
reasons for keeping homosexuals out of
the service. These have to do with
problems of morale, recruitment, disci-
pline and privacy, among other factors.
"I'm not a threat," Colonel Cammer-
meyer said. "This is a regulation that
is truly based on ignorance more than
prejudice, but the two go hand in
hand."
While Colonel Cammermeyer may
not have the support of Mr. Cheney, her
immediate commander in chief, Gov.
Booth Gardner of Washington, has fully
backed her.
"The Army and the United States of
America are senselessly losing an out-
standing individual who is eminently
qualified to continue serving in the
Washington National Guard," said Mr.I
I
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[Clipping: Dismissed from Army as a lesbian, colonel will fight homosexual ban], clipping, May 31, 1992; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc915758/m1/1/: accessed June 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.