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Scott Elliott is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He writes about education, city and suburban issues, politics, business, workforce and consumer issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > August > 26 > Entry
Scott Elliott: Airman’s case could break ground for gay civil rights
In his famous “letter from a Birmingham jail” in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. responded with irritation to calls for him to wait before holding more protests demanding an end to public discrimination.
“This ‘wait’ has always meant ‘never,’” he wrote. “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.”
By filing what could be a groundbreaking lawsuit, Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach was saying he could no longer wait for the U.S. Air Force to do the right thing.
An ominous sign came in late July, when Lt. Dan Choi — a gay army National Guardsman in New York and an outspoken critic of the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” rule — got his walking papers.
Fehrenbach, who was born at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and who grew up in Huber Heights, soon learned his own discharge was imminent. So he played his ace.
“They’ve taken everything from me — my job, my pension — everything I’ve lived for but my sense of right and wrong and my honor,” he said in anticipation of being pushed out.
It makes no sense that the military is still discharging soldiers for being gay. The president, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the defense secretary all have said they favor dropping “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” the law that allows gays to be expelled if their sexual preference becomes known. The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee have voted to repeal it. Public opinion polls strongly favor getting rid of it.
All that’s left is for the full Senate to vote, which could come as early as next month. (Ohio Sen. George Voinovich is among a handful of Republican fence-sitters who gay-rights advocates are trying to win over.)
Even if the repeal effort fails, “Don’t ask” could meet its demise in the courts. Other cases have been working their way toward the Supreme Court, but Fehrenbach’s case is viewed as a particularly strong example of discrimination, perhaps a better test case than the others. His lawyers think the case could be seminal.
“We are taking the Air Force somewhere they don’t want to go — acknowledging the law of the land in the ninth district,” said M. Andrew Woodmansee, lead counsel on Fehrenbach’s case.
Utah, where Fehrenbach is stationed, is among the western states under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Appeals of the 9th District, which in 2008 established what is known as the “Witt standard.” In the case of gay Air Force Reservist Maj. Margaret Witt, the court found the military must demonstrate that a gay service member’s presence constitutes a threat to unit readiness or cohesion.
Gay-rights advocates are convinced that cannot be proven, especially given Fehrenbach’s stellar military record. The Iraq and Afghanistan combat veteran and elite aviator was cited for raising morale in his most recent performance review. In the days after the Sept. 11 attacks, he was handpicked for a team that protected the air space over Washington, D.C. It’s not a stretch to call the guy an American hero.
Fehrenbach never had any intention of becoming a gay-rights icon. The Air Force learned he was gay after he was falsely accused of a sexual crime and the police tipped off officers at the base. Fehrenbach did everything he could to get the Air Force not to push for his discharge. Nobody in his unit knew he was gay, so none of the military’s usual justifications for dismissal applied, he argued. How could he be a disruption or harm morale if nobody knew? Instead of backing off, the Air Force blew his cover by moving to dismiss him.
Overt discrimination against gays, through laws like “Don’t ask” or bans on gay marriage, won’t last. It’s just a matter of time. The question is how much time?
Gay civil rights advocates are awaiting a tide-turning court case, one that banishes discrimination in a sweeping way, much as Brown v. Board of Education did for school segregation. Such a decision could accelerate change the way Brown did for black civil rights.
He may have started out simply fighting to keep a job he loves, but Fehrenbach could end up playing a part in hastening the arrival of a world where nobody has to hide who they are in order to live the life they want.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: Civil Rights, Columns, Scott Elliott
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By parental
August 26, 2010 8:39 AM | Link to this
Gay people already have the same civil rights as everyone. else. What they want is more than the rights guaranteed to all Americans. They have chosen to place themselves in a victim status. Saying they deserve to be “protected”. Comparing the struggle of black people to gay people is ridiculous. Saying that Fehrenbach is a victim of the military rules is just plain stupid. He knew the rules when he joined the USAF. He chose to live by those rules. For whatever reason, he chose to join the USAF even though he knew his sexual orientation was not accepted by the USAF. Great pilot or not, he knew the situation. Gays and their supporters are willing to disrupt military units just to claim “acceptance”. No amount of disruption is too much in their eyes. Our military strength will suffer just to make it OK to be gay in the USAF. You can point to the other countries that have gays openly serving. You can say they do just fine. I say..do you want those militaries protecting you instead of ours?
By higher power will be the judge
August 26, 2010 11:31 AM | Link to this
your argument appears to be blatant homophobia. No one should judge another person by what they are, we should judge them by their actions. Fehrenbach is an excellent airman. It is about time this stupid policy, recall the military hated it when it was put into place.
By Nobody
August 26, 2010 3:52 PM | Link to this
Wow, parental, did you even read the article? He didn’t reveal his sexual orientation, the cops did, for whatever reason they felt that was necessary. Discrimintation is illegal & that includes a person’s sexual orientation, how is the military exempt from that?
By bob
August 28, 2010 1:56 AM | Link to this
Now, I’m just wondering, mind you, but can someone please tell me how one can be “openly homosexual”? You see, if homosexuality and being black are one and the same thing, how does one become “openly black”? As opposed to what? Secretely black? Discretely black? In the closet black? For that matter, how does one change from merely black to flamboyantly black? Do you suppose they have spies going around AF bases snitching on innocent sevicemen by telling their commanders that they are (gasp!) actually black? Answer please.
By DM
August 30, 2010 8:11 AM | Link to this
“Gay people already have the same civil rights as everyone. else?? ” If that was true, how could they be banned from the military in the frst place ? How could laws exist to specifically target a segment of population?
By Max
August 30, 2010 3:09 PM | Link to this
Scott, I’ve been away and saw this thing you wrote. The issue, hopefully, will be resolved early next year when the recommendations are reviewed. Those who jump the gun, I suspect, have an agenda other than serving and keeping their jobs. I will share, one more time, I had a sniper team assigned to my squad in Afghanistan. The shooter was described as being able to shoot the boogers out of a fly’s nose. Well, he did his job and those .50 bullets hitting their targets made it clear, whether Alexander the Great, or a certain buck sergeant, death cares little about sexual orientation. But, that’s a perspective from the ground which is all I know. I am sure the dynamics may be different in administrative and office settings. They usually are.