Ruling on Gays in Army Set Aside by Court

A federal appeals court today set aside its landmark ruling that struck down the Army’s ban on homosexuals.

In response to the government’s appeal, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals referred the case to an 11-member panel of the court for a new hearing and nullified a 2 to 1 decision Feb. 10 in favor of a discharged gay soldier.

No reason was given for today’s decision, which was contained in a one-sentence order.

Besides declaring the Army’s policy on sexual orientation unconstitutional, the February ruling was the first by a federal appeals court that said homosexuals were entitled to the same protection against government discrimination as racial minorities.

No Date Set for Hearing

No date has been set for a new hearing. The 25-judge court did not give details of the vote to refer the case to an 11-member panel.

The case involves Perry Watkins, 39, of the Seattle area, who enlisted in 1967 at age 19 and said he had homosexual tendencies.

At the time, the Army discharged soldiers for sodomy and other specific acts but not for homosexuality itself. However, homosexual orientation was declared to be a ground for discharge under regulations adopted in 1981.

Watkins, supervisor of the Ft. Lewis personnel administration center, was discharged in 1984 despite high job ratings.

In the Feb. 10 ruling, a three-judge panel said the Army must reconsider Watkins’ application for re-enlistment without regard to his sexual orientation.

Army Arguments Rejected

The panel rejected Army arguments that the ban was justified by widely shared moral standards and concern for morale and discipline.

“Laws that limit the acceptable focus of one’s sexual desires to members of the opposite sex, like laws that limit one’s choice of spouse (or sexual partner) to members of the same race, cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny absent a compelling governmental justification,” the majority opinion said.

More than 1,300 people were discharged from all branches of the armed services for homosexuality in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the government said.