GAYS AND THE MILITARY: Joseph Steffan versus...

GAYS AND THE MILITARY: Joseph Steffan versus the United States edited by Marc Wollinsky & Kenneth Sherril (Princeton University Press: $14.95; 222 pp., paperback original). One of the 10 highest ranking midshipmen in his class at the U.S. Naval Academy, Joseph Steffan had a promising career as a naval officer--until he admitted was a homosexual. The documents in this volume are taken from the suit Steffan filed against the Defense Department over his subsequent dismissal from the Academy. Expert witnesses discuss questions of security, the ability of gay men and lesbians to perform military duties and the policies of other governments regarding homosexuals in the armed services. Judge Oliver Gasch (who called the plaintiff “a homo” during the trial), apparently ignored the material, as he made no reference to any of it in his decision for the defense. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals ordered the Navy to reinstate Steffan.