Nation IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : Cuomo Criticized by Gay Activists

Gay rights activists criticized Gov. Mario M. Cuomo for not standing behind an order that sought to bar military recruiters from a state university. The order issued by New York’s Office of Lesbian and Gay Concerns would have banned the recruiters from State University of New York at Buffalo. The order was a protest of the armed forces’ refusal to accept homosexuals. But Cuomo aides said state law requires allowing military recruiters on campus, and Cuomo was thus unable to enforce his Administration’s OLGC order. “It’s a slap in the face for the gay community,” said William Rubenstein, of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. Under federal law, schools that bar military recruiters are ineligible for Defense Department funds. SUNY-Buffalo received $3.8 million in such funding last year.