Sheriff, ACLU Settle Suit Over Homosexuals

Civil rights lawyers and San Diego County Sheriff John Duffy settled a lawsuit Tuesday over the rights of homosexual candidates for jobs with the Sheriff’s Department, but the two sides split over whether anything had been changed by the agreement.

The American Civil Liberties Union claimed “complete victory” in wresting Duffy’s agreement not to question job applicants about their sexual orientation. The sheriff agreed to a permanent court injunction that also bars his office from firing or refusing to promote employees because they are homosexual.

But Paul Bruce, the deputy county counsel representing Duffy, insisted that the court order and settlement merely reiterated the sheriff’s existing policy of non-discrimination.

Duffy “has indicated that at no time, to his knowledge, has any applicant for a position in the department been denied consideration for that position solely (because of) his sexual orientation,” Bruce said. Applicants have never been asked about their sexual orientation, he added.

Duffy was out of town and could not be reached for comment.

The ACLU filed the suit on behalf of gay activists two years ago, after Duffy was quoted in the San Diego Union as saying his office tried to screen out homosexual applicants. The story in the Union said Duffy believed that hiring homosexual deputies would pose risks to the public.

According to Bruce, the story inaccurately stated Duffy’s position.

But ACLU attorneys said Tuesday they were certain that applicants in the past had been questioned about their sexual preferences and that the practice had ceased only recently.

“At the time the suit was filed, it was clear Duffy thought it was an acceptable area for inquiry,” said Thomas Homann, one of the lawyers who handled the case for the ACLU.

George Weingarten, another volunteer attorney for the ACLU, said Duffy had refused to discuss settling the case until he received a letter from the state attorney general’s office that said questioning applicants about their sexual orientation was inappropriate.

However, Bruce said the case had dragged on because the ACLU, after taking Duffy’s deposition early in the proceedings, had realized that the sheriff’s practices were acceptable.

Duffy said in his deposition that he believed his office had employed homosexuals in the past, according to Bruce.

Gay activists who instigated the lawsuit said the settlement might pave the way for homosexuals to become deputies.

“This helps break down the doorways,” said Albert Bell, a plaintiff in the suit.