LOS ANGELES : Administration Won’t Fight Gay Officer’s Reinstatement

The Clinton Administration announced Monday that it will accept a Los Angeles federal judge’s ruling reinstating a Naval petty officer who said on television that he is gay. Solicitor General Drew S. Days III said the Administration will allow tomorrow’s deadline for filing a U.S. Supreme Court appeal in the case of Keith Meinhold to lapse.

In November, 1992, U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter Jr. ruled that the Navy sonar operator’s statement about his sexual orientation did not, in and of itself, violate the Pentagon’s former regulations against homosexuality.

In response to a question on the May 19, 1992, edition of “ABC World News Tonight,” Meinhold said: “Yes, in fact, I am gay.” He was given an honorable discharge Aug. 12 that year, then sued, claiming the Pentagon policy regarding homosexuality was unconstitutional.

In October of this year, the government ignored a deadline to appeal the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding Hatter’s ruling about the 13-year veteran’s status.

In the same opinion, the appeals court, which rules on issues of federal law for nine Western states and two territories, struck down the judge’s decision to extend the ruling nationwide.