Rep. Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista) said today that he has asked the Department of Defense and the Marine Corps to investigate whether the killing of a sailor, who was gay, at Camp Pendleton was a hate crime.
Filner, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he wanted a complete investigation of circumstances surrounding the death of Seaman August Provost, 29, of Houston. Provost’s body was found about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday in a guard shack on the western edge of the sprawling base.
Gay leaders in San Diego had asked Filner to intervene. Nicole Murray-Ramirez, chairman of the San Diego Human Relations Commission, said Provost’s family believes the sailor had been harassed by other personnel on the base.
Filner said initial indications are that Provost was shot and his body burned. He said his committee also will investigate the case.
[Updated 7:20 p.m.: In a late afternoon news conference, Navy officials today promised a thorough investigation into the killing. They said, however, that there was no evidence it was a hate crime. A sailor who is considered to be a person of interest remains in the brig. Another sailor, who was initially considered a person of interest, has been released.]
See Congressman says gay sailor’s death is a possible hate crime
Los Angeles Times -
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Pentagon Studies Ways to Relax Enforcement as First Step; Impact on Troops Would be Minimal
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — In the wake of yesterday’s unexpected Pentagon announcement about gays in the military, experts say the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy may be on the brink of irreversible change that would speed up its demise. After speaking with President Obama last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked military lawyers to explore how to modify enforcement of the policy in ways that are “more flexible until the law is changed.” The President Monday reiterated his intention to end discrimination against gay troops, saying he is working with Congress and the military to do so.
Christopher Neff, political director of the Palm Center, said the remarks by Secretary Gates marked the first time the Defense Secretary has made clear that the Pentagon is onboard with the President’s determination to lift the ban. “‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ is a package — both a law and a policy — that hasn’t been penetrated for fifteen years,” Neff said. “This is a crack in humpty dumpty, and it gets the ball rolling for a political solution since it gives cover to lawmakers who have been waiting for a nod from the Pentagon.”
Last month, the Palm Center published a report which outlined several legal and political
rationales for executive branch
discretion in regulating, and even halting,
discharges provided for by
federal statute. One of those
rationales is closely linked to the new review announced by Secretary Gates. According to the Palm Center study, “the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy itself, as codified by
Congress, also
grants authority to the
Department of Defense to determine the procedures under which investigations, separation
proceedings, and other personnel actions under the authority of 10 U.S.C. Section 654 will be carried out … The Secretary of Defense has
discretion to determine the specific manner in which ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ will be implemented.” Prior to the release of the Palm Center’s report, most
observers had assumed that only
Congress or the
federal courts end the firings of
gay troops.
Amidst mounting public pressure,
White House press
secretary Robert Gibbs said this week that he thought “don’t ask, don’t tell” would be repealed by the end of the
President’s first term. Nathaniel Frank, senior research
fellow at the Palm Center, said this week’s developments were politically significant. “Serious discussions have been launched by the
President himself,” said Frank. “
Obama has said this is a failed policy that harms
national security, so these
measures are not just fixes, but may be the
beginning of the end.” Frank added that any regulatory changes that fall short of halting all
discharges will be “window-dressing,” but he focused on the implications for further political change. “This means the
hot potato party may finally be over, as the
President understands where the buck stops.”
In the wake of this week’s developments, the Palm Center announced that it is preparing a more extensive legal analysis of administrative
options for relaxing the application of certain
provisions of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
Neff said that the Defense Department should invite
public input as the rules are re-drafted, which would be consistent with past processes when military regulations have been
changed. “This review should be no different,” he said.
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(Washington) In an effort to change how Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is implemented within the Department of Defense, seventy-seven members of Congress sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to stop the investigation of DADT violations, the Advocate reports.
The Congressional members, led by Democratic Representative Alcee Hastings of …
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