OW 73 - Outweek.net

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.'byDell Richards
TACOMA, Wash.-After nine years
bf battling the US Anny, victory tasteS
especiillly sweet to 42-y~ar-old gay
sergeant Peny Watkins.
"Nine or ten years is a long time, but
it's been worth it," said Watkins in a telephone
interview. "I would do it againand
I would do it exactly the same way."
On Nov. 5, the US Supreme Court
refused to hear an appeal brought. by the
Department of Defense which would
have kept the exemplary soldier out of
, .
the setVice.
.Editor's' Note
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, "In an' article 'on New York City's
nascent domestic partnership legislation
In last week's issue, a reporting error
resulted in the article's erroneous suggestion
that a proposal by the ACLI,Jwas
'~eant to serve as a comp,romise between
a 'more toothsome measure supported by
gay advocates and a city administration
that some perceive 10 be increasingly
s,kittish about the subject .
.' Infact, the ACLU's proposal p~ated
the bill being introduced to the City Council
and is supported by most of the new legiSlation's
backers. The ACLU's propol!al
would have the mayor establish a registry
for domestic partners open to anyone, in
order to track the demand for domestic
,
partnership legislation, and is similar to a'
new law recently proposed by voters in
San Francisco.
While the p.roposal, as set forth by
Nan Hunter and Bill Rubenstein, former
and current directors 0.1. the ACLU's
l~sblan and Gay Rights Project, could
serve as an interim measure, .it was never
intended as an alternative to the pending
bill, which the ACLU also supports.... '
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The ruling Was a sUiprise to Watkins.
"Considering how conservative this court
is--and being Black -and gay and fighting
the government-I had three strikes
against me," he explained. "But it shows
how far off base the government is with
their argument, and how blatantly wrong
they are."
Watkins had vowed to fight till the
end, even though , he didn't initially see
himself as a gay crusader. He has said
repeatedly that he only fought to get what
was his-the pension he had earned.
But his ethics are such that he
couldn't bring himself to lie, even about
¥
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CLOSETS ARE FOR UNIFORMS.-Perry Watkins
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something as "minor" as his sexuality.
"My.mother was vetystrict about lying,"
said·Watkins. Over 20 years ago, when
he saw the question on the Anny application
which asked if he was gay, his first
thought was of her.
"I thought that if I lie anq get thrown
out, my mother would kill me. She
wouldn't mind atall thatJ'm gay, but she
would ~lutely die ifIlied to get in the
Anny and then got thrown· out."
Watkins, who keeps a message
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