Military discharges lesbian after police tattle
Jene Newsome By Associated PressRAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - The rule is still "don't ask, don't tell." And Jene Newsome didn't tell. The Air Force sergeant never told anyone in the military she was a lesbian. But still, she was discharged - after police officers in Rapid City, S.D., saw an Iowa marriage certificate in her home and told officials at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Newsome and the American Civil Liberties Union have filed a complaint against the police department, saying officers violated her privacy. Police say Newsome wasn't cooperative when they showed up at her home with an arrest warrant for her partner, who was wanted on theft charges in Alaska. She was at work at the base at the time, and refused to immediately come home to help officers find her partner. Officers say they spotted the marriage license on the kitchen table through a window, and alerted the base. The police chief says it was "part of the case," and that the Air Force was entitled to the information. But the ACLU says police had no legal reason to tell the military that Newsome is a lesbian. |
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February 9, 2012
- Roseburg, Oregon
