American Notes the Military

Though the Pentagon's own studies raise doubts about the policy, the armed forces have long banned homosexuals, arguing that they undermine morale and could be vulnerable to blackmail. Last week U.S. District Judge Oliver Gasch came up with a new reason for excluding them in a ruling upholding the U.S. Naval Academy's treatment of Joseph Steffan, who was forced to resign in 1987 after his commanders heard he was gay. It was the need to protect soldiers and sailors from AIDS.

The services already screen all personnel and recruits for the AIDS virus and reject applicants who test positive. And Defense Department lawyers did not raise the AIDS issue in arguing the academy's case. Steffan's attorney, Paula Ettelbrick, said Gasch "reached out to grasp some other rationale" for barring homosexuals because the old anti-gay arguments had lost credibility. Gasch made his attitude clear during a hearing, when he called Steffan a "homo."