THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 8, 1996 TAG: 9610080324
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: SAN FRANCISCO LENGTH: 36 lines
A federal appeals court declined to rule Monday on the validity of the military's former ban on homosexuals in the case of a lesbian Air Force colonel who was discharged and later won reinstatement.
The case of Margarethe Cammermeyer is moot because she is back in the Washington State National Guard and the rules under which she was discharged have been repealed, said the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Cammermeyer, a decorated Vietnam veteran, was the highest ranking officer discharged under the military prohibition on homosexuals, and her case was the last remaining under the policy, according to a government lawyer.
The current policy, commonly known as ``don't ask, don't tell,'' has been challenged in three other cases now awaiting rulings by other panels of the court. Two other appellate courts have upheld the policy.
The court rejected a request by the Clinton administration's Justice Department to remove from the books a federal judge's ruling ordering Cammermeyer's reinstatement and declaring the ban unconstitutional. The court said the judge who issued the ruling could decide whether to withdraw it. The ruling is not binding on other courts, however.
``I would have liked closure in our favor, but it certainly isn't a loss,'' said Cammermeyer, who was transferred to inactive status in the National Guard in May.
Justice Department spokesman Joe Krovisky declined comment. ILLUSTRATION: Margarethe Cammermeyer was ousted from the Army
National Guard. The court said her case is moot; the discharge rules
have been repealed.
KEYWORDS: APPEALS COURT LESBIAN GAYS IN THE MILITARY by CNB