Another DADT Disgrace

As if we need another reason to throw out Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Jene Newsome was an Air Force sergeant who did what she was told; she never told anyone that she was a lesbian. She may not have liked the rule, but she followed it. But she was given an honorable discharge under DADT after police officers in Rapid City, South Dakota, saw a marriage license in her home and, well, told.

Jene Newsome and the American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] have filed a complaint against the western South Dakota police department, claiming the officers violated her privacy when they informed the military about her sexual orientation. The case also raises concerns over the ability of third parties to "out" service members.

"I played by 'don't ask, don't tell. I just don't agree with what the Rapid City police department did. ... They violated a lot of internal policies on their end, and I feel like my privacy was violated."

The Rapid City Police Department says Newsome, who has been in the military for nine years, was not cooperative when they showed up at her home last November with an arrest warrant for her partner, who was wanted on theft charges in Alaska.

Newsome, on base when the officers came to her home, refused to immediately come home and assist the officers in finding her partner, whom she married in Iowa--where gay marriage is legal. The officers stood outside her home, and peered into a kitchen window, spotting the marriage on the kitchen table. They instantly alerted the base.

Police Chief Steve Allender said in a statement that the license was relevant to the investigation because it showed both the relationship and residency of the two women. "It's an emotional issue and it's unfortunate that Newsome lost her job, but I disagree with the notion that our department might be expected to ignore the license, or not document the license, or withhold it from the Air Force once we did know about it. It was a part of the case, part of the report and the Air Force was privileged to the information."

Let me get this gay. The police are looking for a women. They go to her home, that they know she shares with another women because they call that second woman and ask her to come to the residence. When that woman says she can't come right away, they "see" a marriage license through a window, on a table, and can read both women's names on it? And then, rather than wait for Newsome to return, they call her commanders and out her?

Yeah, that makes compete sense.

Allender went on to say that his department does not seek to expose gay military personnel, even though they did, or investigate the sexuality of Rapid City residents, even though they did. He also said the department finished its internal investigation and found the officers had acted appropriately. They have not been placed on leave during the investigation.

That's called "saving your own ass."

In the complaint filed last month with the department, ACLU said police had no legal reason to tell the military Newsome was a lesbian and that officers knew if they did, it would jeopardize her military career. Newsome, who was discharged in January, said she didn't know where the marriage license was in her home when police came to her house, and claims the officers were retaliating because she wouldn't help with her partner's arrest.

"This information was intentionally turned over because of 'don't ask, don't tell' and to out Jene so that she would lose her military status," said Robert Doody, executive director of ACLU South Dakota. "The 'don't ask, don't tell' piece is important and critical to this, but also it's a police misconduct case." The ACLU is focusing its complaint on the police department, not the military, and Newsome said she and her attorney have not yet decided on whether to file a lawsuit.

More than 13,500 service members have been discharged since 1994 for being gay, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network [SLDN], though this sort of "third party outing" is rare.

Newsome, who is moving to Alaska, says she'd been looking forward to the time when the military would end DADT. "I felt like it was getting close," she said. "I was really hopeful."

Me, too.